Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » avril 2012

Image Insight on Monday announced the first free trial release of GammaPix for Android smartphones, an application that loosely measures gamma radiation with the phone's camera.

The GammaPix gimmick is that it can detect radiation in different everyday situations, such as cosmic radiation while flying in an airplane, or gamma radiation in medical waste. You simply pull up the app, and begin taking a reading. Under normal circumstances, the camera can grab a complete reading in about five minutes.

The application uses technology that analyzes video and still imagery for the signature of gamma rays that have hit the image sensor. The measurements themselves indicate the rate of interactions of gamma ray radiation with the particular camera being used, so different phones will yield different results. Image Insight formed in 2010 with the explicit purpose of developing this app under a $679,000 contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The application is in no way a replacement for a Geiger Counter or Scintillation Counter, and is intended only for use in non-emergency settings where radiation could be present, furthermore the app only provides non-quantitative measurements for observing variations in gamma ray exposure.

Still, it's a neat concept.

Initially, the app will be available as a free trial download in Google Play on specific Android phones, then an iOS version will be released, and a version for first responders will follow.

Though the app is compatible with phones running Gingerbread and up, it may not work with your device. Setup takes in excess of 20 minutes, and I spent all morning trying to get it to work on the Galaxy Nexus, to no avail. We're going to keep trying with other Android devices today. Let us know how you fare.

Photo: Bob Orsillo/Shutterstock

The best-designed Android tablets you can buy today aren’t the sleekest or the sexiest. They’re not the most powerful. And they don’t boast the largest or brightest displays. What they do have, however, are sales. The tablets? The Kindle Fire from Amazon and Barnes & Nobles’ Nook Tablet.

On a runway awash with thin, pretty models, it’s easy to overlook this pair of plain Janes. But don’t. They are two of the top three largest-selling Android tablets on the market. And their formula should serve as a model for how to succeed in this market if you’re a supplier that’s lacking a throng of breathless fanatics aching to snap up anything you sell.

According to comScore data for the US market, more Kindle Fires were in use than all other Android tablets combined at the end of February, just its third month on the market. comScore says that 54.4 percent of all Android devices accessing the Internet were Kindle Fires.

In the same breath in which comScore lauds the Kindle Fire, though, it snubs the Nook Tablet. You see, comScore excluded Nook Tablet from the study, classifying it instead as an e-reader rather than a tablet.

Microsoft, however, knows a good thing when it sees it. The software giant today invested $300 million in Barnes & Nobles’  ebook spin-off, Newco.

Regardless of whether Microsoft or comScore understand, both Barnes & Noble and Amazon know they hold the keys to this market: that a successful tablet is built around what I call an “anchor” app. Yes, you can load other apps, just as you would with a general-purpose tablet. But when it’s optimized for a popular app, it’s more compelling than one that’s being marketed by its form factor.

Think about it this way: would you be more or less likely to consider purchasing a Swiss Army Pocket-able Lump?

The Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet were two of the four best-selling tablets last year. And they weren’t even available until the fall. The other two -- the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the iPad -- were launched in 2010.

Savvy CE manufactures have taken a lesson from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Watch for them to unleash tablets designed around other anchor apps beginning late this year. A few of the more attractive anchors:

1. Gaming. I would argue that Sony’s PlayStation Vita is a gaming-centric tablet. It’s got a browser, Facebook, Twitter and access to an online store where you can go get other apps. Just last week, in fact, Sony added Skype to its app store.

I’d be shocked, by the way,  if Microsoft wasn’t hard at work on an Xbox-inspired tablet to unveil after Windows 8 is on the market.

2. Video. I’m shocked that I still see people on planes who are watching movies on portable DVD players. Who is buying these dinosaurs? Regardless, there is obviously a ready-made opportunity for a well-designed video tablet to entice these consumers out of the disc age.

3. Personal Navigation. The window for this is limited, as the market for single-function GPS devices is already beginning to contract. Nevertheless, it is an established device market that a GPS-centric tablet could tap into and quickly exploit.

Needless to say, designing a tablet around a popular app isn’t the only ingredient for success. The Vita stands testament to that. As well, there will continue to be a market for sleek and shiny general-purpose tablets. But as Amazon and Barnes & Noble have shown, it’s much easier to coax consumers to pull out their wallets if your tablet does impeccably well what it is they want to do.

Remember: you can call it a knife and still tuck a toothpick and a fish scaler inside.

Mike Feibus is principal analyst at TechKnowledge Strategies, a Scottsdale, Ariz., market research firm focusing on client technologies. You can reach him at mike at techknowledge-group dot com.

CyberLink makes some great media software -- PowerDirector is probably the best consumer video editor available today -- but, unsurprisingly, for the most part it isn’t a cheap date. Equipping yourself with the company’s media player, media manager and video editor alone will cost you almost $170, for instance, and that’s before you’ve even thought about disc authoring, file format conversion and other desirable functions.

Fortunately CyberLink does offer a more cost-effective alternative in the shape of Media Suite 10. This bundles 11 CyberLink packages together, which makes them vastly cheaper: Media Suite 10 Ultra is $129.95 for the complete set, and if you opt for the Pro build instead (more on that later) then it can be yours for only $99.95.

Sounds good. But what, exactly, do you get for your money? We take a closer look.

Core Packages

Buy Media Suite 10 and you’ll get five major CyberLink apps. (We don’t have space to discuss them in detail here, but follow the links if you’d like more information.)

PowerDVD 12 BD Express caters to your media playback needs, DVD, Blu-Ray and even 3D movies and videos. There’s built-in support for browsing YouTube, Facebook or Flickr, and the program can now even stream content from DLNA servers.

PowerDirector 10 HE3D is an excellent video editor. Improvements this time include MKV and FLV import, faster rendering, support for 3D video imports and effects, and AVCHD/ BD disc creation.

And elsewhere, MediaShow 6 Deluxe delivers enhanced media management with new 3D support and improved face tagging; Power2Go 8 DE, the core disc burning tool, can now mount disc images as virtual drives; and PowerProducer 5.5 Ultra is a powerful tool for template-based Blu-ray and DVD authoring.

We would rate PowerBackup 2.6 Standard as next in importance; it’s a capable tool for backing up your system to DVDs or Blu-ray discs. And MediaEspresso 6.5 Deluxe is a useful application for converting media files into more mobile device-friendly formats, although the large amount of free competition means it doesn’t quite have the value it once did.

And the remaining applications are less important: some people might like them, others may use them rarely, if at all. So for instance, WaveEditor 2 Standard allows you to edit audio files and create mobile ring tones; PowerDVD Copy 1.5 Standard makes quality DVD movie backups, including automatically compressing dual-layer content to fit 8.5GB onto a 4.7GB DVD; LabelPrint 2.6 Standard is an easy-to-use tool for designing and printing disc labels, and InstantBurn 5 Standard is a packet writing app which allows you to drag and drop files to DVDs or Blu-ray discs just as though they were another hard drive.

Not all the bundled packages are particularly important, then. And media-wise, there’s a notable shortage of photo-editing power (MediaShow has some editing options but nothing exceptional). Still, that’s not necessarily a problem: there are at least five applications here with significant commercial value, and as long as you’ll use three or maybe four of these then Media Suite still looks like a good buy.

Integration

When you’ve this much functionality on offer, it can be hard to know which program you should launch to carry out a particular task. But fortunately CyberLink has provided PowerStarter, a simple front-end menu system that generally points you in the right direction.

Essentially the program breaks down your media life into six tabbed areas: Movie, Video, Photo, Music, Data & Backup and Utilities. Clicking any of these displays a set of related tasks, so choosing “Video” gives you “Play Video Files”, “Advanced Video Editing”, “Upload to Social Networks” and so on. And clicking any of these then launches the appropriate program: easy.

This integration has its limits. You’re still working with a set of 11 individual applications underneath, for instance, and these will individually ask you for registration: you can’t register everything in a single action.

And initially we were a little annoyed to see pop-up ads and “upgrade!” messages when we first launched some applications. This may seem like a budget deal to CyberLink, but if we’ve just spent $129.95 on a suite then we’d like to think the company can give the marketing a rest for a while.

We only saw a few of those messages, though, and they can probably all be disabled from PowerStarter’s settings (clear “Receive CyberLink product information”). So on balance this seems to work well enough, with the program quickly leading you to whatever features or functionality you need.

Which Version?

The key point to remember when you’re thinking about purchasing Media Suite 10 Ultra is that it doesn’t include the full stand-alone versions of every package: in a few cases these are cut down, and in ways you might not always expect.

The most significant example of this is PowerDirector, where you get the HE3D build. This has some of the high-end Ultra features, including 3D display support; the ability to convert 2D videos to 3D; 3D video effects, and full Blu-ray and AVCHD disc burning. But at the same time, you don’t get features like full HD preview; 3D particle effects, and TrueTheater video enhancement. There are less templates for things like slideshows, and some output options are missing (you can’t save projects in QuickTime format, for example).

And your Power2Go 8 DE build also has some omissions, in particular being unable to create system recovery or video discs. (You can use PowerProducer for your video authoring, of course, but the absence of system recovery options is a shame.)

You shouldn’t let this put you off entirely. Buy even the most basic stand-alone version of everything here and you’ll pay around $430, so even if there are a few missing features then Media Suite 10 Ultra’s $129.95 price tag still looks like an excellent deal (as long as you’ll make significant use of 3 or 4 of the programs, anyway).

And in theory you can save even more cash by opting for Media Suite 10 Pro. It has the same packages, but drops Blu-ray movie playback and most 3D support, amongst a few other issues, and can be yours for $99.95.

Whatever edition you’re looking at, though, it’s wise to be cautious. We think Media Suite 10 is a great way to introduce yourself to the CyberLink range, but it is possible that the various restrictions and omissions could prove annoying to some, so we would strongly recommend that you take the trial build for a spin before you buy.

Photo Credit:  Alex Kosev/Shutterstock

LG will enter the cloud on Tuesday, debuting a new service aimed at sharing content across multiple devices. LG Cloud consists of apps for the Android and PCs, as well as LG's own line of smart televisions.

LG Cloud is part of a broader effort by the company to focus on both services and hardware. The offering will become part of a new LG division called the Smart Business Center, which is tasked with developing content and other services for its smart devices.

It's a wise move: content and services have much lower overhead compared to hardware. Low-margin services can lift hardware sales.

"Most companies today only see the cloud as a storage device or in the case of YouTube or Flickr, only for one type of content", LG Home Entertainment president and CEO Havis Kwon says. He argues that consumers wish to get their content from a single location, and that was the genesis behind LG Cloud. "Our solution is about making life more convenient".

Unlike other cloud services, the transcoding to produce content for various devices occurs in real-time. This means videos on one device that are shared in the cloud are almost instantaneously available on any other device connected to the cloud. LG says that no other streaming cloud service currently offers such a feature.

Transcoding is a serious issue when it comes to cloud media streaming. Video on one screen may not look good (or be compatible) with another. This has traditionally been done after the fact though, and not automatically. LG hopes that such a feature will attract consumers to its offering. It will also be able to successfully transcode 3D content for viewing on 3D-compatible devices, LG says.

LG Cloud will be available as both free and premium services, with pricing and storage varying depending on the market. The company did not say whether it plans to make a version of its mobile app compatible with the iOS platform.

Photo Credit: Toria/Shutterstock

You think your PC is infected by something dangerous, but your regular antivirus package hasn’t raised any alerts. So what now?

This is a question we cover fairly often here. Only last week we reported on the latest version of Mandiant Redline, which will scan your system’s executables and highlight those most likely to be malware. Now, CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) Austria has come up with another small contribution in DensityScout; it’s not for PC novices, but if you’re an expert computer user then you could find the program very helpful indeed.

What DensityScout essentially tries to do is identify files in a given folder path that have been packed. This is a technique commonly used by malware to obfuscate or encrypt its contents, making it more difficult for regular scanners to identify the threat (although it’s also used by many legitimate programs, so you need to be cautious how you interpret its results).

And the program uses a simple mathematical idea to figure this out. Standard unpacked executable files will have an uneven spread of bytes; that is, some byte patterns will occur more often than others due to structures in the file. But the packing process means you’ll have a much more even distribution of byte usage throughout the file, and so by calculating and reporting on a file’s density (which the author says is similar to entropy, though we’re still awaiting the precise details), you can more easily find possible malware.

So what does this mean? The author recommends launching the program with a line like this:

densityscout -s cpl,exe,dll,ocx,sys,scr -p 0.1 -o results.txt c:\Windows\System32

(Be sure to read his SANS blog post on DensityScout for the full details.)

Which essentially means scan all the executable files in the Windows System32 folder, saving the data to results.txt. Those results are then placed in order, with the lowest and most suspect values at the top. Which, on our test Windows 7 system, started like this:

(0.02417) | c:\Windows\System32\FlashPlayerInstaller.exe
(0.16460) | c:\Windows\System32\DivX.dll
(0.22350) | c:\Windows\System32\iglhsip32.dll
(0.28759) | c:\Windows\System32\AuthFWGP.dll

That’s not bad at all. The program has immediately highlighted a couple of non-system files within the \Windows\System32 folder (and there were other examples further down the list).

But it also illustrates the problem with DensityScout: legitimate files may be packed, too, so you need to interpret these results with care. And you certainly can’t scan an entire system and expect useful results (if nothing else it’ll take too long; the program must count every byte in the scanned file types so isn’t too speedy).

Still, we were impressed by DensityScout’s ability to highlight packed files in our Windows folders. And they’re a common target area for malware, so even if you never use the program for anything else, then its ability to check those locations could be very useful. Just be sure to very carefully research any files it throws up, because being packed does not necessarily mean a program has any malicious intent.

Photo Credit: infografick/Shutterstock

Macs have been in the news more than normal recently. The Flashback Trojan shows the platform is just as prone to viruses and malware as Windows and other operating systems.  Many Mac users believe -- wrongly, it might be added -- that OS X is immune to malware and does not need any form of protection. The latest high-profile infestation highlights the need for Mac security tools and; with almost uncanny timing, avast! Free Antivirus for Mac has exited beta and gone gold.

Software from avast! has been available for Windows for quite some time, and the Mac version of software is based on the same protection engine. The app is broken down into three basic areas -- File System Shield, Mail Shield and Web Shield -- and if you have used the Windows version of the tool, you’ll know pretty much what to expect. As is becoming increasingly common, this security tool takes advantage of community reporting to improve the analysis of suspicious files, helping to allow for faster responses to emerging threats.

Individual files can be scanned for infection by dragging them onto the app interface, but you also have the option of running scans of your entire system, including removable media and network locations. The Web Shield works in conjunction with the WebRep browser plugin -- available for Safari, Chrome and Firefox -- helping to protect against malicious phishing web sites as you spend time online.

Unlike some security software, when avast! say that their software is free, they mean that it is free. This is true for both home users and businesses, which is great news for any small company looking to keep costs to a minimum while maintaining the security that is so important.

You can find out more and download your free copy of the program by paying a visit to the avast! Free Antivirus for Mac review page.

Photo Credit: Jirsak/Shutterstock

If you were unimpressed by the fairly unexciting appearance of Firefox 12 last week, then today does at least bring some browsing alternatives by way of the performance-optimized spinoff projects, Pale Moon 12 and Waterfox 12. And although the lack of additions to the broader code base means they’re both essentially maintenance releases, there is still some interesting news here.

Pale Moon 12 notably has not moved to a silent install method, for instance, which means it won’t provide the maintenance service. The developer tells us there are several reasons for this, not least “the fact that Pale Moon has always been in favor of giving users the choice when and where to download and install an update to what is for most people the heart of their on-line experience”.

Further, the Pale Moon 12 Release Notes also explain that “instead of following the rapid release schedule of Mozilla, the browser will use version 12, a properly matured build with essential functionality, as a base to make incremental updates upon.” Which, the document states, means there will be less need to “go off on the “Web OS”/”Metro”/”Desktop integration” tangent that goes against Pale Moon’s goals of being and remaining a web browser”, while giving the developer more time to implement things that he thinks are actually worth doing.

But this time, anyway, the Pale Moon 12 changes are relatively small. Updates to the status bar code, the HTML5 media controls and localisation of the status bar preferences into three additional languages (German, French and Spanish) being probably top of the list.

And if you prefer Waterfox 12, the custom 64-bit version of Firefox, then that’s also now available. Again, the lack of movement in the core code means that items like “Page Source now has line numbers” rank surprisingly highly on the “What’s New” list, but of course it still includes some useful security fixes, so if you’re already a Waterfox fan then it’s a very good idea to upgrade.

Nobody partners, or negotiates deals, like Microsoft. That's evident from today's stunning agreement with Barnes & Noble, which is sure to turn the ebook market on its head. The two will jointly invest in Newco, temporary name for ebook venture that incorporates B&N's digital and College business divisions. B&N gets partner in Microsoft, which invests $300 million, for 17.6 percent stake; both parties end ongoing patent disputes, largely related to Android; and Microsoft launches Windows 8 with native Nook Reader application. All around it's win-win, after losing a decade ago.

That's right, Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have been here before, in pioneering ebook ventures that failed. Both companies jumped on ebooks back when Amazon, which makes the popular Kindle, was still just a struggling Web 2.0 startup. Microsoft Reader led the first big ebook push at the turn of the century, and Barnes & Noble launched its original e-bookstore using the software. I bought my first ebooks there about 12 years ago. But by late 2003, it was over; Barnes & Noble gave up on ebooks -- a market later re-entered only after Amazon's Kindle success. Microsoft kept producing Reader software, but that's done, too, when the software retires on August 30.

Starting Behind

The newer initiative is hugely strategic for the companies. Amazon and Apple have taken early leadership in standard and educational ebooks. For example, Amazon rents e-textbooks, while Apple offers software and service for making and selling them -- and both companies tout aggressively low prices compared to printed textbooks. B&N offers Nook Study, which lets students rent or buy e-textbooks.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has fallen way behind in tablets, a market it shepherded a decade ago only to see Apple and Amazon snatch it away in just two years. According to IDC, the two companies commanded 71.5 percent of the global tablet market in fourth quarter. At the end of February, in the United States, Amazon led Android tablets, with 54.4 percent share, according to comScore.

Windows 8, and its touch-oriented Metro user interface, is Microsoft's platform for regaining tablet momentum. The partnership assures availability of a native ereader app and hungry partner. Both companies are hungry, and ready to compete hard against Apple and Amazon.

"The formation of Newco and our relationship with Microsoft are important parts of our strategy to capitalize on the rapid growth of the Nook business, and to solidify our position as a leader in the exploding market for digital content in the consumer and education segments", B&N CEO William Lynch says. "Microsoft’s investment in Newco, and our exciting collaboration to bring world-class digital reading technologies and content to the Windows platform and its hundreds of millions of users, will allow us to significantly expand the business".

Read Me

But Microsoft is in the midsts of a major architectural shift that competitively is ill-timed. "Because the Metro user experience also includes new software architecture and the new Microsoft Store for apps, it will take time for the developer ecosystem to build", Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillette writes in report "Tablets Will Rule The Future Personal Computing Landscape", published last week. "As a result, it will take most of 2013 for the Microsoft ecosystem to create a fully capable Windows Metro experience for customers, pushing sales acceleration to 2014. Once rolling, however, we expect Microsoft will be a significant player, but one chasing a leader with a multiyear head start". That leader is Apple.

Gillette forecasts that tablet shipment compound annual growth rate will be 46 percent through 2016, when global number will reach 375 million, up from 56 million last year. He estimates that the tablet install base will be 760 million tablets, compared to 2 billion PCs. He predicts that by the time Windows tablets begin to make significant share gains in two years, Apple and Amazon will both have aggressively expanded the platforms to enterprise software developers. Other than education, Amazon's focus is all consumer today.

"Our complementary assets will accelerate e-reading innovation across a broad range of Windows devices, enabling people to not just read stories, but to be part of them", says Microsoft mobile chief Andy Lees. "We’re at the cusp of a revolution in reading". That's the key point for the software giant. Tablets and ereaders are products sure to converge, as Kindle Fire, iPad and even Nook demonstrate.

But there's something else: Android. Today, Nook runs a customized Android version, not Windows anything. The deal effectively ends Microsoft patent litigation against Barnes & Noble and leaves Google's Motorola Mobility subsidiary as last major Android licensee not to cut a deal with Microsoft.

What's that saying? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer? Microsoft cuts deals with competitors as easily as partners -- and they're often one in the same -- for monetary or strategic gain, which is both here.

Photo Credit: Tischenko Irina/Shutterstock

Third in a series. The current irrationality at IBM described in my two previous columns, here and here, is not new. Big Blue has been in crazy raptures before. One was the development of the System 360 in the 1960s when T.J. Watson Jr. bet the company and won big, though it took two tries and almost killed the outfit along the way. So there’s a legacy of heroic miracles at IBM, though it has been a long while since one really paid off.

There are those who would strongly disagree with this last statement. They’d say that with its strong financial performance IBM is right now in one of its greater moments. But haven’t we just spent 2000 words showing that’s not true? Successful companies aren’t heartsick and IBM today is exactly that, so the company is not a success.

Looking back over the 35 years I’ve been covering this story I can see in IBM an emotional and financial sine wave as rapture leads to depression then to rapture again, much of it based on wishful thinking. The first IBM rapture I experienced was pre-PC under CEO John Opel, when someone in finance came up with the idea of selling to IBM’s mainframe customers the computers they’d been leasing.  Sales and profits exploded and the amazing thing was the company began writing financial plans based not only on the idea that this conversion largess would continue essentially forever but that it would actually increase over time, though obviously there were only so many leases to be sold.

When the conversions inevitably ended, IBM execs were shocked, but Opel was gone by then, which may have set another important precedent of IBM CEOs getting out of Dodge before their particular shit hits the fan. We see that most recently in Sam Palmisano, safely out to pasture with $127 million for his trouble, though at the cost of a shattered IBM.

Thanks for nothing, Sam.

Opel was followed by John Akers, who enjoyed for a time the success of the IBM PC, though Bill Lowe told me that IBM never did make a profit on PCs. No wonder they aren’t in that business today. Akers‘ departure was particular gruesome but it led to IBM looking outside for a leader for the first time, hiring Lou Gerstner, formerly of American Express.

Gerstner created the current IBM miracle of offering high-margin IT services to big customers. It was a gimmick, an expedient to save IBM from a dismal low point, but of course it was soon integrated into IBM processes and then into religion and here we are today with an IBM that’s half IT company, half cargo cult, unable to get beyond Gerstner’s stopgap solution.

Ironically, in Palmisano’s effort to continue Gerstner’s legacy, he destroyed almost every one of his predecessor’s real accomplishments.

Living in Denial

Where will future IBM growth come from? Wherever it comes from, can IBM execute on its plan to grow new businesses using cheap, underskilled offshore talent?  If Global Services is struggling to hang on, how well will this work for the new IBM growth businesses coming up?  As IBM infuriates more and more of its customers, how long can IBM expect to keep selling big ticket products and services to those very same customers?

Global Services is a mature business that has been around for about 20 years.  In IBM’s 2015 business plan big income is expected from newer businesses like Business Analytics, Cloud and Smarter Computing and Smarter Planet.  Can these businesses be grown in three to five years to the multi-billion dollar level of gross profit coming from Global Services?  Most of these businesses are tiny.  A few of them are not even well conceived as businesses.  It takes special skills and commitment to grow a business from nothing to the $1 billion range.  Does IBM have what it takes?

Probably not.

Do you remember eBusiness?  Do you remember On-Demand?  These are recent examples of businesses IBM planned to grow to billions in sales, businesses that no longer exist today.  Some claim that Blue Gene is shortly to be shuttered, too.

Here’s a simple thought experiment. When it comes to these new software and Internet services, IBM’s competition comes from a variety of companies including Amazon, Apple, Dell, Google, Hewlett Packard, Oracle and others. Does IBM have an inherent advantage at this point against any of those companies? No. Is IBM in any way superior to all of them and thence in a position to claim dominance? No.

IBM isn’t smarter, richer, faster moving, better connected. They may be willing to promise more, but if they can’t also deliver on those promises, any advantage will disappear.

IBM is still buying profitable businesses, of course, imposing on them IBM processes, cutting costs and squeezing profits until customers inevitably disappear and it is time to buy another company. It’s a survival technique but hardly a recipe for greatness.

My opinion is that IBM’s services business profit will continue to decline as they try to cost cut into prosperity. Unless they find a way to grow revenue and provide a quality product (service), they’re either headed for a sell-off of the entire service business, probably to some Indian partner, or to a complete implosion. In short, it’s a race to the bottom, and IBM is winning.

Killing the cash cow

Yes but, readers tell me, that’s just services, not the real IBM.

There is no real IBM, not any longer.

The company has become a cash cow. You never feed a cash cow, just take money out until the cow is dead.

Hardly respect for the individual, eh?

If IBM is planning a 78-percent staff reduction, then that will of necessity involve all USA operations, not just Global Services.  Hardware, systems, software, storage, consulting, etc. will all see serious staff cuts. This means IBM could be moving a lot of its manufacturing and product support offshore. Raleigh, Lexington, Rochester, and several other IBM communities are about to lose a lot of jobs.

Every non-executive job at IBM is viewed as a commodity that can be farmed out to anyone, anywhere.

IBM was once so special but today there’s little difference between IBM, AOL, or Yahoo except that IBM has better PR. All three are profitable, something we tend to forget when it comes to AOL and Yahoo. All three are effectively adrift. All three are steadily selling off the bits of themselves that no longer seem to work. When Global Services is gone, what will IBM sell next?

Everything else.

Reprinted with permission.

Also in this series: "The Downfall of IBM"; "Why is IBM sneaking around?"; "How do we just fix IBM?"

Photo Credits: Lisa F. Young/Shutterstock (top); wendelit teodoro/360Fashion (Cringley -- below)

Robert X. Cringely has worked in and around the PC business for more than 30 years. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, Forbes, Upside, Success, Worth, and many other magazines and newspapers. Most recently, Cringely was the host and writer of the Maryland Public Television documentary "The Tranformation Age: Surviving a Technology Revolution with Robert X. Cringely".

Cloud was the big news this past week, and there were exciting developments in the world of online storage. After what seems like years of waiting, Google Drive 1.0 finally released, extending the idea of Docs and providing users with the opportunity to store any files they want online and keept them synched with their computers. There’s also a mobile version of the app available, Google Drive for Android 1.0.77, that enables access toyour files on the move.

Ubuntu One 2.0.3 has nothing whatsoever to do with the operating system of the same name, but provides you with 5GB of free space for storage and backups. Cloud storage stalwart Dropbox 1.4.0 has been updated and finally becomes stable, as well as adding batch uploading and importing of photos Meanwhile, Microsoft released Microsoft SkyDrive 2012 v16.4 and Microsoft SkyDrive 2.0 iOS with reduced storage levels.

For managing the space on your local hard drive, IObit Uninstaller 2.2 enables you to keep things neat and tidy by removing unnecessary program and toolbars, while CCleaner 3.18 and CCleaner 3.18 Portable provide you with more advanced cleanup options. If you find that Explorer is too limited for your file management needs, XYplorer 11.00 provides you with a dual-paned interface and a host of feature that make it easy to work with files and folders – albeit at a price.

VirtualBox 4.1.14 has been updated for anyone looking to virtualize an operating system, fixing a range of known issues whileVirtualBox Extension Pack 4.1.14 adds handy extra features such as a USB 2.0 controller.

It was a big week for Mozilla browsers with the release of Firefox 12 FINAL and Firefox 12 Portable 12, which have now moved into the stable channel, although there isn’t a great deal to look at in terms of new features. Firefox 13 Beta features a redesigned New Tab pages, while Firefox Aurora 14.0a2 adds support for Windows 8’s Metro interface. Firefox Nightly 15.0a1 (32-bit) and Firefox Nightly 15.0a1 (64-bit) give glimpses of the future of Firefox, although they are not recommended for the faint-hearted.

For anyone who is keen to keep an eye on the latest interface changes coming in future versions of Mozilla’s web browser, Firefox 15.0a1 UX (32-bit) and Firefox 15.0a1 UX (64-bit) should interest. Mozilla is about more than its web browser, and Thunderbird 12 FINAL keeps the version numbering in line with Firefox and both this standard app and the portable version, Mozilla Thunderbird Portable 12.0, include search improvements and more.

There were a number of noteworthy security releases this past week, including Emsisoft Anti-Malware 6.5.0.11, which keeps your computer free from unwanted nasties and includes speed improvemens as well as new plugins for Outlook.

Norton Identity Safe 2012.6.0.72, Norton Identity Safe iOS 1.0.50 and Norton Identity Safe Android 1.0.1 are new, free tools from Symantec that can be used to securely store passwords in an encrypted database and quickly enter personal information into online forms. Not content with updating SkyDrive and announcing a future update to the public preview of Windows 8, Microsoft have also release Microsoft Security Essentials 4 FINAL [32-bit] and Microsoft Security Essentials 4 FINAL [64-bit], which boast improved performance and is available free of charge for small businesses.

Getting a little more creative, CyberLink Media Suite 10 Ultra is a staggeringly feature-packed suite that comprises no less than eleven separate tools for viewing, editing, managing and sharing your media collection. If you encode videos yourself, you will know exactly what format it is in, but you may well encounter other videos online that won't play back. This may well be because you do not have the necessary codecs installed and this is where codec packs are useful; released this week were K-Lite Codec Pack Basic 8.7.0, K-Lite Codec Pack Standard 8.7.0,  K-Lite Codec Pack Mega 8.7.0 and K-Lite Codec Pack Full 8.7.0.

The final releases in this week’s roundup will be of interest to mobile users. Twitter 4.2 for iOS and Twitter 3.2.0 for Android have been updated to feature better push notifications as well as a redesigned Discover section. If you’re using social media for professional purposes, LinkedIn for iOS 5.0 will be of interest as it is now a universal app and also features iOS calendar integration.

This has been a particular busy week for releases, and the coming seven days look like being just as exciting. Our next roundup kicks of May goodies.

Photo Credit: CCimage/Shutterstock

Looking for a backup tool? There is plenty of choice for even the pickiest of software connoisseurs. Aside from the irritating aspect of having to actually get a backup job set up, one thing that puts many people off safeguarding their valuable data by backing it up is the cost of the necessary software.  Cobian Backup 11 is one of a number of free backup tools vying for users’ attention and it boasts an impressive array of features.

If you have followed the app's development, the move to version 11 introduces a number of new features as well as tweaks to existing favorites. There is now support for AES encryption, better remote management and the ability to use tasks within groups.  The important thing to remember with any backup regime is that your files are only truly safe if you back them up regularly. Rather than relying on memory, it is better to have an automatic schedule in place, and this is definitely something that Cobian Backup can help you out with.

The range of scheduling options is impressive and there are various new system events that can be used as triggers rather than just relying on dates and times. For example, you may choose to run a backup at startup, or on the third Tuesday of the month, or before computer suspension. If you have configured multiple backups -- you may want to backup music files and image separately, for instance -- one task can be used as trigger for another.

Other enhancements see the addition of the ability to limit the number of differential backups that are retained, meaning that you are able to place restrictions on the amount of space that has to be set aside to house backups. With features such as FTP backups, both as source and destination, strong compression and encryption and much more besides. It’s easy to be put off the idea of using free software, particular for something as important as backing up data, but this is a tool that deserves serious attention.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the program by paying a visit to the Cobian Backup 11 review page.

Photo Credit: Raimundas/Shutterstock

Suddenly mobile Twitter makes lots of sense to me, and I wonder what good the desktop or web clients are at all. Versions 3.2 and 4.2, available today for Android and iOS, respectively, improve discovery, search and, more importantly, interaction with others and topics that matter most to you.

Not that Twitter mobile was bad before, it's just whole lots better now -- and where you need it most. On the go. Most of the goodness is behind the Discover tab, which after being much of a wasteland before is now lively and filled with streaming content relevant to you.

For example, Twitter better presents the activity of people you follow, including in my stream today the folks they start following. This discovery method feels more like a social network and connects you to new people. That's what friends -- eh, followers -- are for, meeting new people. No surprise, you'll see who's retweeting what -- and also who's adding whom to lists.

There's more. "Now you can tap any story once to see Tweets about a particular trend or news article", Sung Hu Kim, Twitter product manager, says. "You can then read the entire story or join the conversation by replying, retweeting or favoriting related Tweets".

Search gets a decidedly modern makeover, with useful autocomplete and suggestions. I've gotten addicted to Google+ member autocomplete, a capability now available for Twitter in the Connect tab.

But it's better on iOS than Android. "We’ve also made a few improvements specifically for iPhone: when you tap the search box in Discover, you’ll see your most recent queries", Kim explains. "You can also go directly to someone’s profile when searching for a username in Connect".

Finally, and you'll love or hate it, push notifications now include Interactions. Yeah, don't you want to know when Jack Smugface disses you, so you can respond now rather than hours later? But some users may want to tone down this one's settings, particularly if people frequently retweet or favorite your 140-character musings. Hey, battery life is precious and too many notifications suck it up.

If you own Sony's Android tablet, the wait is over. Android 4.0 is available, starting today. The company says that users will be prompted to update the next time they connect to WiFi.

Sony's tablet packs one of the most customized versions of Android, from look and feel down to a plethora of apps, the majority focused on entertainment. Users can expect plenty of spit-and-polish tweaks and enhancements throughout its ICS iteration.

"There are a lot of cool new things you can do now with the firmware upgrade -- hellooo, single-motion panorama photo mode and direct access to your SD card", [Maya Wasserman explains] on the Sony blog. Other enhancements include the ability to unlock direct to camera, "small apps for multitasking", and easy switching browser from mobile to desktop mode.

Sony launched Tablet S in August, initially $499 for the 16GB model or $599 for its 32GB companion. The electronics giant temporarily discounted during the holidays, then made them permanent in January with $100 cuts. As Mother's Day approaches, another discount comes: $50 instant rebate plus free docking cradle.

Sony S comes with 9.4-inch display with 1200 x 800 resolution, Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1GB RAM and as, previously mentioned, 16GB or 32GB storage, which is expandable with SD card.

For a platform that was built to handle text documents, Amazon Kindle's support for non Kindle-formatted files has been nothing short of atrocious.

Wirelessly sending documents to a Kindle required that they be emailed to a Kindle email address where they'd be converted and sent to the user's Kindle library; or they could be uploaded directly to Kindle e-readers or tablets via USB, but with spotty usability.

In the case of PDF files, this often meant lost pagination, no text search, and no interactivity (read: highlighting.) It was a generally unpleasant experience to get outside content into the Kindle library, and then consuming it was another unpleasant experience.

Yesterday, Amazon took a major stride in remedying this messy situation, and released the "Send to Kindle" application for Windows/Mac. This desktop application dramatically streamlines the process of uploading new content onto Kindle devices.

On Windows machines, you can simply right-click on a document (word, text, rtf, image, pdf, and others) and click "Send to Kindle," on Mac machines, you can drag the file you want to send to the "Send to Kindle" icon in the dock. On all systems, a menu then pops up to let you select which registered Kindle device to send the document to, including mobile applications for phones and tablets. They can be sent to any combination of your devices, all of them, none of them, whatever.

I am an Android user. Not a die-hard, not a fanatic who walks around in a little green bugdroid beanie, but someone who uses Android because it is customizable and versatile.

I am also one of those people who does not believe there is a "winner" among Android tablets; a device that can be everything to everybody like the iPad manages to be.

That being said, the Kindle Fire is now the closest Android Tablet of any to reaching that ideal. Amazon just needs to fix a few things.

Kindle Fire's branch of Android is based entirely around Amazon's retail ecosystem and giving customers various ways to interact with their purchased content, or to purchase more content. It's good, but it fails in two respects.

Compatibility

The Kindle Fire allows applications available from third-party sources to be installed, but with the new Send to Kindle application, we see how hostile Amazon remains toward content from outside of its ecosystem.

Users can send the following formats to their Kindle: .DOCX, .DOC, .TXT, .RTF,
.JPEG, .JPG, .GIF (not animated), .PNG, .BMP, and .PDF. For books, I've found that the application actually does support the transfer of .mobi e-books, but it does not accept the extremely common .epub (archived HTML/XHTML), or protected .pdf e-book formats. Audio and Movie files are bounced right out of the application.

For as easy as Amazon has made file transfer, it still has not made compatibility any broader.

Interface

The Kindle Fire UI, generally speaking, is horrid.

I'm talking about the "carousel" view of recent processes which dominates the home screen. It is constantly changing based upon whatever apps or content you most recently interacted with, and when your device is full of various documents without a cover image, your homescreen becomes a big Rolodex of white cards.

Whenever you add a new book or application, it slides into the first position in the carousel and is the first thing you then see on the homescreen, irrespective of where you actually want it to go.

The constant aspect of the homescreen UI is the top navigation bar, which contains buttons for Newsstand (Kindle periodicals), Books (Kindle e-books), Music (Amazon mp3), Video (Video on Demand/Prime), Docs, Apps, and Web (Silk Web browser).

Until yesterday, when Amazon released Send to Kindle, the "Docs" tab on my Kindle Fire had never been used because the method for populating it was so unwieldy. I have had several directories of e-books and magazines that I had gotten through various non-Amazon channels that didn't make it to my Kindle Fire for this very reason.

Now that the document sharing aspect has been simplified, the docs directory is full, but only of the things that Amazon supports.

If document compatibility is improved, and the UI is fixed, there is no reason why the Kindle Fire couldn't be the banner iPad competitor.

That's essentially George Colony's contention. "Apple will decline in the post-Steve Jobs era", the Forrester Research analyst opines. The sentiment is stunning in context of Apple's first two quarterly results following Tim Cook's ascension to chief executive. The company generated more revenue ($85.83 billion) than all fiscal 2010 ($65.23 billion). Net income ($24.12 billion) exceeds that of fiscal 2009 and 2010 combined ($22.25 billion). That's hella good performance.

Yesterday, I argued that "Apple is better off without Steve Jobs", in part based on recent performance that derives from Cook's running logistics for the better part of three years. But I also believe that no one knows the future, and that good reporting is about looking from different viewpoints. So today I offer counterpoint to yesterday's prognostication. Yeah, I'll rebut myself, something I frequently do. You just don't see the process, and Colony's argument is good foundation.

Disruptive Risks

The question to start with: What is Apple? For many long-time Mac fans, Jobs is Apple. The two can't be separated. But for the hundreds of millions of people buying iPads, iPhones and iPods over the last decade, Apple is something else. According to a new report released today by NPD, one in three Americans owns an Apple product. The majority of newbies own iPhone or iPad, but increasingly the tablet.

Referring to iPad, NPD analyst Ben Arnold says that "one-in-five Apple owner households has one -- nearly equivalent to the number that own an Apple computer". These aren't Steve Jobs' people -- the so-called Mac faithful that worshipped him and his sense of style. Most of them probably didn't know who Jobs was until his tragic, well-publicized death.

But Jobs' influence over these Apple product owners is undeniable. His leadership led these products to market and define a style that Cook so far fails to exhibit: Disruptive risk-taking. Last year I wrote about decade-past Apple launches that are foundational. Three were huge risks, and Apple took them at a difficult time -- during a recession: OS X, Apple Store and iPod, in order of 2001 release. But the big pay-off risks came later: iPhone and iPad, particularly, and culminated others.

Apple launched iPhone on one carrier in 2007, moving into a market where it had no expertise, no experience. Then came iPad, which moved into a market where many other computer and consumer electronics giants had failed. Yet these risks paid big rewards. During fiscal 2012 second quarter, for example, iOS devices generated 76 percent of Apple revenue. iPad and iPhone generated $29.3 billion revenue, or 74.8 percent of revenue. These disruptive risks define Jobs' return as Apple CEO.

But who will take such risks now? Who will lead disruptive changes like these? Ponder those questions while reading the next section.

David Thinking

In December 2009, I posted here at BetaNews something taken from my personal blog months earlier: "Why Apple succeeds, and always will". I wrote:

Apple doesn't play by the rules. It reinvents them. Apple applies what I call 'David Thinking' to its broader business, product development and marketing. Apple is David to Microsoft Goliath -- and other ones, too. Goliath plays by one set of rules. David choses to change the rules, which favor his strengths rather than those of Goliath.

David thinking derives from research political scientist Ivan Arreguín-Toft conducted. In 2005 book, How the Weak Win Wars: A Theory of Asymmetric Tactics, he explains how seemingly weaker opponents can prevail against stronger ones by changing the rules of engagement. He produces excellent historical data showing that, in wars, when smaller rivals use such tactic they are more likely to win, even against mightier opponents. The Biblical example of David vs. Goliath is good analogy. Rather than fight like Goliath -- and almost certainly lose by dawning armor and sword -- David relied on his own strengths. A slingshot and stone kept him out of Goliath's reach but still on the offensive. I call this approach David Thinking.

But Apple has gone through dramatic transformation since I wrote that analysis. Apple is no longer David but Goliath. Apple's size and success makes it the status quo and encourages management decisions that seek to preserve what is rather than take forward-reaching risks. The higher Apple's stock price rises or the more customers it acquires, the less attractive risk-taking looks to management. Today's Apple, under Cook's leadership, is in jeopardy of losing the risk-taking, David Thinking that defined Steve Jobs' leadership. It's answer to the question I started with: What is Apple? A disruptive, risk-taking, rule-changing innovator.

Charisma vs. Competence

Apple is not a cult of Mac enthusiasts; they're a minority now. As stated earlier, most people buying the products today have never been influenced by the so-called "reality distortion field" -- the spell of Steve Jobs. Apple's cofounder spent little time on the keynote stage starting in 2008, because of his health.

Colony sees Apple for what it was, not what it is -- a business led by a charismatic leader:

In charismatic organizations, the magical leader must be succeeded by another charismatic -- the emotional connection of employees and (in the case of Apple) customers demands it. Apple has chosen a proven and competent executive to succeed Jobs. But his legal/bureaucratic approach will prove to be a mismatch for an organization that feeds off the gift of grace.

That's not Apple 2012, nor was it before Cook's ascension to CEO about eight months ago. There's a well-known management maxim that charismatic leaders often can't grow companies far enough because they micromanage too much. Many of the most successful startups required the charismatic leader to step back and put someone else in charge. Given Jobs' health situation and Cook largely running day-to-day operations, at least from January 2009, this leadership change effectively occurred at Apple years ago. Jobs continued to provide vision -- and good taste -- while Cook expanded the core business. As I asserted yesterday, Jobs' ego held back Apple. His declining health let Cook make competent decisions about manufacturing and distribution logistics that generated huge sales. Apple can design pretty products, but it means nothing if there is no place for people to buy them.

Meanwhile, the faithful decreased in numbers, particularly outside the company. That Apple shares soared, rather than collapsing, after Jobs stepped down as chief executive and then tragically died, says much about the myth and the man -- that the charismatic leader and company are one. They aren't.

Colony and I agree about something that is important to Apple's future: "When Steve Jobs departed, he took three things with him: 1) singular charismatic leadership that bound the company together and elicited extraordinary performance from its people; 2) the ability to take big risks, and 3) an unparalleled ability to envision and design products". I absolutely agree on the second, but question the other two -- how much is myth versus the man. Colony says that "Apple's momentum will carry it for 24-48 months", and without a charismatic replacement will decline like the company did after Jobs left in 1985 or following the departure of Polaroid and Walt Disney founders.

No Risks, No Gain

Apple doesn't need charismatic leadership. The company requires someone with vision to think like David, to constantly change the rules of the game and in process take risks in innovation. That was Apple under Steve Jobs.

What's risky about iPhone 4S or new iPad? Sure, Apple developed these products while Jobs was CEO, but he also was ailing and Cook ran day-to-day operations. Cook has yet to demonstrate David Thinking, not that he's had much time. Still, there's time enough.

My favorite example of Jobs' disruptive approach is iPod nano, and I watched to see if there might be something similar with third-generation iPad. Apple introduced the diminutive music player in September 2005 to replace the iPod mini, which was the standard copied by competitors. Just as their larger devices arrived for the holidays, Apple transformed the category with the tiny nano.

Something else: Apple killed off iPod mini at the height of popularity. No one does that! But Apple did. iPod sales dramatically rose with launch of the mini in early 2004 and simply skyrocketed after the nano. iPad's high-resolution display adopts similar philosophy but is nothing near as radical. In more ways, it preserves the status quo rather than defies it. Cook must do better.

For Apple to remain Apple, disruption and risk should be defining characteristics. If not, then there is no Apple without Steve Jobs. The company has become something else.

Cash as a form of payment is rare these days as plastic takes over, and online it is all but nonexistent. Not anymore, though -- Walmart now allows online customers to pay for their orders with the good ol' Greenback.

Here's how it works: customers place their orders on the website, and select "Cash" as the payment option. They then have 48 hours to take a printed-out copy of the order form and pay at any local Walmart store. Walmart's demographics seem to support such an offering, so it is obvious why the retailer would offer cash as a form of payment.

The Bentonville, Ark. retail giant notes that only 15 percent of its in-store transactions are paid in true credit, while the rest are paid in cash or cash equivalent. A larger portion of its customer base lives paycheck to paycheck and may not have the means or desire to access a bank account or credit card. In a recent study, Walmart found that nearly two-thirds of "underbanked" customers would use such a feature if it was available.

"[Pay with cash] makes it easier for our customers to shop the way they want, where they have access to a broader product selection at Walmart.com coupled with the convenience of payment and shipping as they want", Walmart.com president and CEO Joel Anderson says. Anderson believes this is a huge opportunity for the company.

Low-income customers are likely not the only ones to use such a system either: some consumers prefer to not share payment information over the Internet. A pay with cash system is likely very attractive to these consumers as well.

Photo Credit: Redstarstudio/Shutterstock

How many times have you done it? After deciding to spring clean your computer you empty the Recycle Bin only to realize that it contained some files that you meant to copy out. Or you may be browsing through files over the network and delete some files on another machine, bypassing the Recycle Bin altogether. We have all found ourselves needing to restore files that have been deleted in haste, and this is something that Wise Data Recovery can help with.

The name of the program is about as descriptive as you could hope for, and this is an example of an app that does precisely what you would expect it to. There are no fancy extra features to be found here, but what this free recovery tool does, it does well and makes everything as simple as possible. Scans of hard drives are performed surprisingly quickly and you can tell at a glance what chance you have of restoring the data thought you might have lost.

Wise Data Recovery enables you to browse through recoverable files in their original folder structure, although you may find that folder names have been obliterated, and uses a traffic light system to let you know the status of any file. Files marked with a green icon are in good condition and should be recoverable without problems while those with a yellow icon are in a poor condition. This may mean that you are able to recover some data from them, but anything that has been assigned a red icon is unrecoverable.

There is also a search option on hand to help you to track down files that include certain words and you can either work through files restoring them on an individual basis, or you can selected large number to recover at the same time. For a free tool this seems like an impressive program and in tests it was able to successfully recover files that had been deleted some time ago. If you have lost data, this is well worth taking a look at.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the program by paying a visit to the Wise Data Recovery review page.

Photo Credit: Dirk Ercken/Shutterstock

Following on from the release of Firefox 12 FINAL, Mozilla has updated its developmental branches to versions 13 (Beta), 14 (Aurora) and 15 (Nightly/UX), respectively. Those looking for major changes in version 12 will may be disappointed, but future builds promise a number of radical new features, including redesigned Home and New Tab pages, plus panel downloads manager and inline preferences screen.

Get a head’s up on what’s coming and discover which build is best for your personal needs with our essential guide to what’s coming up in the near future for Mozilla’s open-source, cross-platform browser.

Firefox 12.0 FINAL
This is the recommended release for most users, being the latest, stable build available. That said, version 12 will not go down in the annals of Mozilla folklore as a notable release, with a minor refresh of the HTML5 controls and the move to silent updates on Windows machines being the only two changes of note. Ordinarily we’d caution against moving rapidly on to the next version, but read on to discover why you may not be able to resist taking the plunge and moving to the beta channel.

Firefox 13.0b1 Beta

Last August, Mozilla unveiled a presentation of how it sees the Firefox user interface changing in the months ahead. A few minor tweaks have already landed in Firefox, but version 13 sees two noticeable new features making their first appearance: a new Home page, and a New Tab page.

Firefox’s new Home page (type about:home into the Address bar) provides users with a customized page that includes shortcuts to bookmarks, downloads, add-ons, history, sync, settings and an option for restoring the previous session. This latter feature is another new addition to Firefox’s feature set, and restores all open tabs from a previous browsing session.

The home page, which can be pinned permanently as an app tab for easy access, is fully functional already, but will evolve further in time; Mozilla plans to use it as a portal to the upcoming Apps Market, for example.

Firefox 13 also introduces a redesigned New Tab page that will be familiar to Chrome and Opera users: thumbnail previews of frequently visited sites. On first visit these will appear blank, but as time goes on and you visit said sites, they should start to populate themselves with thumbnail images of the site itself.

Sites can be permanently removed (click X), pinned to the list and even dragged and dropped into a new order, and those who hate the new feature will find a small button in the top right-hand corner that toggles between this new view and the traditional blank tab page.

There’s one other major change in version 13: smooth scrolling is now enabled by default, despite the acknowledgement of one bug that may cause issues on certain web pages. Meanwhile, Android users will be pleased to learn that support for Flash is finally being enabled in version 13 of the mobile app, but only if you’re running Android 2.x or 4.x.

Firefox 14.0a2 Aurora

Aurora is an “alpha” build of Firefox, which means it’s undergone minimum testing only. As such it’s not suitable for everyday use, which is why Firefox Aurora is installed as a separate build alongside the stable or beta build, allowing you to test its features without affecting your day-to-day browsing. Settings are shared between Firefox Aurora and your other builds, however, so again caution should be exercised before installing it.

After all the excitement of Firefox 13 Beta, you’d think the Mozilla developers would rein things in for v14, but none of it. The most exciting features planned are currently listed as in definition, design or development, which means there’s no guarantee they’ll appear in Firefox 14. These include a version of Firefox that runs in Windows 8’s new Metro interface, support for desktop apps (which can be installed and used independently of Firefox, even when offline), and the panel-based download manager that’s been a staple of the UX build for a long time.

One other tweak in development is an extension to the silent updates feature introduced in Firefox 12, and that’s the ability of Firefox to update itself in the background, so the user will never have to worry about manually updating again. This is slated for version 14, but may yet slip to version 15 due to a current slew of issues undergoing fixes.

The inline autocomplete function remains stubbornly part of Aurora, where it has been since version 12's release. This is designed to anticipate what URL is being typed into the Address Bar, pre-loading the web page in the background before the URL has been entered.

Other “landed” features are minor, and behind-the-scenes tweaks. These include incremental garbage collection, hang detector and reporter, and cycle collector performance improvements, some of which were slated for Firefox 13 Beta and may yet be implemented in this version.

As things stand, there’s nothing visible to get excited about in Firefox Aurora, which makes us think it’s probably best to wait until it gets to Beta before seeing if any of the more exciting new features mentioned above are ready for their move to primetime.

Firefox 15.0a1 Nightly/Firefox 15.0a1 UX

Firefox’s two Nightly channels give users access to code hot off the press, but while you’re looking at the latest bleeding-edge version of Firefox, you’re also venturing into uncharted waters because much of this new code has had no testing at all. Nightly builds update regularly, so once installed you’ll find your build updating on a much more frequent basis than other unstable releases.

After the excitement of features being developed in versions 13 and 14, Firefox 15 looks like being a more minor release at this early stage in its development. At the present time only three new improvements are in the pipeline: two performance-related (faster start-up times for Windows users, and tweaks to session restore so it doesn’t slow down the browser restart process) and one that’s being developed by students at Michigan State University.

This latter feature, “in-content preferences”, will see Firefox’s Options dialogue box removed and the program’s preferences moved into a browser window, similar to how Chrome’s preferences currently work. This is currently accessible in Firefox 15.0a1 UX, the parallel nightly build of Firefox where interface improvements such as the panel-based downloads manager and New Tab pages first made their appearance.

When selecting Options, you’ll see the old pop-up window is replaced by a new tab with a series of buttons to choose from. Click one to access that section’s settings -- at present this feels a little clunky, but we suspect it’ll evolve into something sleeker in time.

Windows and Linux 64-bit users may be interested in trying Firefox 15.0a1 Nightly 64-bit and Firefox 15.0a1 UX 64-bit. We’d recommend all but developers and serious, knowledgeable enthusiasts avoid the Nightly builds of Firefox.

So, to Summarize...

Which version of Firefox should you try? Stick to the most stable version you feel comfortable with, although the temptation to sneek a peek ahead is actually quite compelling with these latest developmental builds.

That said, it’s hard not to recommend people check out Firefox 13 Beta -- the new features will make a difference to the way you use your browser going forward, and it’s a shame one or other couldn’t have been made ready to provide version 12 with a little more pizzazz.

If you do plan to take a look into the future of Firefox, back up if you plan before installing Beta or Aurorabuilds of Firefox. And If you do decide to give the Nightly or UX builds a try, consider using a non-critical machine or virtual setup (try VirtualBox) instead of your main computer, just in case…

VMware has confirmed that a portion the the source code for its ESX hypervisor was compromised, although the code dates back as early as 2003. That said, a fairly significant portion of the company's customers are still using the platform as VMware works to push them towards its newer hypervisor called ESXi.

A hypervisor in the simplest terms is a virtual machine management platform on which several virtual machines can run concurrently. The hypervisor controls the sharing of virtualized hardware resources. ESXi has a far smaller attack surface, which limits the available avenues of attack on a installation.

The code was posted to Pastebin by a LulzSec-related hacker who goes by the handle "Hardcore Charlie" on April 8. The breach was part of a larger effort by the hacker which compromised the servers of the Beijing-based China National Import & Export Corp (CEIEC). The hacker says he was looking for information on the US military's efforts in Afghanistan.

Adding insult to injury, VMware says it is aware that additional code disclosures may occur, but attempted to downplay any damage. "VMware proactively shares its source code and interfaces with other industry participants to enable the broad virtualization ecosystem today", the company's Security Response Center director Iain Mulholland says.

Given the sometimes glacial pace the enterprise moves when it comes to updating software, this week's confirmation of the breach should provide some impetus to those still using the ESX hypervisor. While this particular code may check out and be free from holes, there's no assurance future code disclosures will be equally bug-free.

Mulhollland says the company is conducting both an internal and external investigation of the breach, and will share further details as they become available.

Paul Roberts, blogger with Kaspersky Lab's ThreatPost, calls the breach the "IT equivalent of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster", pointing to the fact that VMware itself cannot rule out that its own source code repository may have been hacked.

Roberts is not referring only to the VMware code, but a chunk of other sensitive data that has "bubbled up" from the CEIEC breach, including sensitive information on US military operations in Afghanistan, and a host of internal communications from Chinese companies through an associated breach of Chinese e-mail hosting company Sina.com.

Photo Credit: US Coast Guard

Google has surreptitiously answered whether AT&T or T-Mobile would carry Galaxy Nexus, which is available from Sprint and Verizon here in the United States: No. Otherwise, why would Google sell the smartphone direct, which it started doing yesterday. It's a helluva price, too -- $399, unlocked, with no contractual commitment.

This is the HSPA+ model released internationally in November 2011. That means no LTE and only 16GB storage, rather than 32GB -- and it's not expandable. The phone sold for $729 or more from Amazon and handset resellers just a few months ago. Amazon lists the 16GB model for $438 today. But, hey, $399 is better. But is it low enough for you? You can get 64GB iPhone 4S from AT&T for same price -- granted locked, with 2-year contractual commitment. Both handsets are HSPA+, though, and AppleCare+, which offers cheap replacement for broken phones, is an extra $99. So I ask: Would you -- or will you -- buy Galaxy Nexus direct from Google?

"First available in the US, Galaxy Nexus costs $399 and arrives at your door unlocked, without a carrier commitment or contract", Android chief Andy Rubin says. "You can use it on the GSM network of your choice, including T-Mobile and AT&T. It also comes pre-installed with the Google Wallet app which lets you easily make purchases and redeem offers with a tap of your phone. Best of all, we'll give you a $10 credit to get you started with your new mobile wallet".

Galaxy Nexus is available from Google Play's new "devices" section. I purchased two Nexus One smartphones direct from Google in 2010. Process was simple and delivery fast. I expect similar customer service here.

Google's timing is strange, though. Samsung plans to debut Galaxy S II's successor during a London event next week. Galaxy Nexus may soon lose its crown as hottest Android handset, although "pure Google" -- meaning newest Android and no sneaky skins -- remains an important differentiator.

Google had the right idea when selling Nexus One direct starting in January 2010. Many bloggers, journalists and pundits got it wrong, presuming Google wanted to circumvent carriers. As I said then, Google rightly wanted to establish a reference design for Android smartphones and provide developers and enthusiasts with the most current OS version. Galaxy Nexus is similar, but more.

This time, Google is trying to get around carriers as well. Some partners have corrupted pure Google -- Verizon among them -- by disabling or muting some Galaxy Nexus/Ice Cream Sandwich features while holding back updates. Then there is the distribution problem, with AT&T and T-Mobile being glaring examples.

Neither carrier offered predecessor Nexus S, either. Best Buy sold the phones for Google, unlocked with or without carrier commitment -- but $529 no contract. By that measure, the considerably better Galaxy Nexus is a bargain at $399. Still, it's pricey compared to what Americans are used to paying with contractual commitment.

So what do you get? Galaxy Nexus sports 4.65-inch multitouch display with 1280 x 720 resolution (100,000:1 contrast ratio); 1.2GHz dual-core processor; 1GB RAM; 16GB storage; GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 3G (850, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz), HSPA+ 21; 5MP rear-facing and 1.3MP front-facing cameras; LED flash; zero shutter-lag; 1080p video recording; accelerometer; ambient-light sensor; barometer; gyroscope; GPS; proximity sensor; digital compass; Near-Field Communication (NFC); Bluetooth; WiFi; Android 4. Measurements: 135.5 x 67.94 x 8.94 mm, 135 grams. The battery is 1750 mAh, which is less than the 1850 mAh available with Sprint and Verizon models.

I reviewed the Verizon Galaxy Nexus in December. I highly recommend the carrier's model, which gets big boost from LTE. I presume the HSPA+ model experience is comparable, but would want to test one, considering how much better I find cellular and data service from Verizon than AT&T.

So back to where we started: Would you buy unlocked, HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus from Google for $399. Comments await your response.

Popular social network Facebook has partnered with security vendors Symantec, McAfee, Microsoft, Sophos, and Trend Micro in a program to simultaneously improve Facebook's security and broaden the availability of the antivirus software from each of the partners.

Since 2008, Facebook has kept a URL blacklist, and any time a Facebook user posts a link to one of the blacklisted URL, Facebook pops up an interstitial warning page before the browser actually connects off to the suspicious destination. Facebook's parters in this effort included McAfee, Google, Web of Trust, and Websense.

With the partnerships announced today, Facebook's URL blacklist system will include the malicious URL databases of all of the security vendors.

"This means that whenever you click a link on our site, you benefit not just from Facebook’s existing protections, but the ongoing vigilance of the world’s leading corporations involved in computer security. At the moment, less than 4% of content shared is spam (compared to nearly 90% of email) and we are looking forward to making even more progress in the future," a blog post from the Facebook Security Team said on Wednesday.

And what do the security companies get out of this? Prime exposure to Facebook's 900 million users, of course!

On Wednesday, Facebook launched its own Antivirus Marketplace, where users can download the various antivirus software packages from Microsoft, McAfee, Trend Micro, Sophos and Symantec under six-month free licenses. These companies will also be able to use the Facebook Security Blog to post their bulletins and information for its more than six million followers.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference will take place June 11-15 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, but forget about going. That's because tickets sold out in only two hours, the fastest in the conference's history. In 2010, this took 10 days to occur, and in 2011 eight hours.

Like last year, 2012's event is expected to focus on software. Mountain Lion should be released during the event, which brings more iOS-like features to the desktop. Conversely, iOS 6 is also expected to debut at WWDC, although we seem to know a lot less there.

The proof of what's to come at this year's event comes from the statements of marketing chief Philip Schiller. "We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers", he says in a statement.

Apparently neither could the developers, if the fast sellout was any indication -- even though WWDC costs $1,600 per ticket, and the announcement was made during the middle of the night Silicon Valley time. Have no fear though: Apple says it will post videos of the more than 100 educational sessions in the developer section of its website.

You’ve no doubt noticed that a huge number of websites require you to log into an account before you can do anything useful. This could be your banking site, a forum, a social network, or almost anything else imaginable and in all likelihood you have a huge number of passwords to remember. Some people simply use the same password for everything, but this has obvious security implications. Norton Identity Safe is one possible solution that rivals tools such as KeePass and 1Password as it stores all of you log in details in a secure database.

The app is available for Windows as well as iOS and Android and, providing you make sure you download the software before 1 October 2012, it is completely free of charge. Although there is a regular program installation to run through, the app is really a browser plugin for users of Windows and OS X, and it is compatible with Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera. As all of your password are stored in one place, you will obviously need to create a strong password to keep everything secure, and there is a two-step approach to this.

Firstly, you need to sign into an existing Norton account, or create a new one if you do not already have one, and you then have to create a separate password for Identity Safe itself. It’s no good trying to cheat here as you are not allowed to use the same password as for your account, and you will be guided through the process of making a suitable strong password – not too short, a mixture of upper and lower case letter, and including numbers and symbols.

Once this has been done you can start storing your usernames and password, and Identity Safe will then automatically fill in login forms whenever you call on it to do so -- auto-form filling also extends to address, credit card details and the like. Because data is stored in the cloud it can be automatically synchronized between devices so you never have to remember passwords -- however many different machines you use. It’s somewhat disappointing to find that it is not possible to successfully import passwords that have already been saved in your web browser.

There are also mobile versions of the app available for Android and iOS and while these offer many of the same options as the desktop version, there are a few differences. Firstly, you need to have setup the desktop version in advance so the mobile app can pull in password information from the cloud. The iOS app is really a replacement for the built-in browser and it will enable you to access the passwords you have stored in your account and similar options are available to Android users. It is also possible to check the safety of web sites and any pages that are deemed unsafe will be automatically blocked.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the software by paying a visit to the review pages -- Norton Identity Safe, Norton Identity Safe for iOS and Norton Identity Safe for Android.

Photo Credit: bicubic/Shutterstock

Today, CyberLink released Media Suite 10, which combines eleven of the company’s most powerful applications into a hugely comprehensive multimedia bundle.

PowerDVD 12 is a very capable media player, for instance. Power2Go 8 caters for all your disc burning needs. MediaShow 6 is an excellent media management tool, and PowerDirector 10 is arguably the best consumer video editor available today.

But that’s just the start. PowerProducer 5.5 provides speedy template-based disc authoring; MediaEspresso 6.5 converts media files to more mobile-friendly formats; other bundled tools include PowerBackup 2.6, PowerDVD Copy 1.5, LabelPrint 2.6 and InstantBurn 5, and the helpful PowerStarter provides a front-end menu which makes it easy to find and access the particular function or feature you need.

As previously, CyberLink makes Media Suite available in two flavors.

Media Suite 10 Pro ($99.95) is the budget build. It includes all the applications we’ve listed, and adds many new features since the last release, including YouTube/ Facebook/ Flickr integration; DLNA support; MKV/ FLV import; faster video rendering; and the ability to import and browse 3D and many RAW image formats, amongst others.

Media Suite 10 Ultra ($129.95), though, can also play back Blu-ray movies. Strong 3D support sees the package able to play Blu-ray 3D movies, 3D videos and photos. It can edit 3D videos, too (there are even new 3D effects), and there are a few other high-end extras on offer (such as support for playing back Dolby True-HD/ DTS-HD).

Both suites do at first seem very much cheaper than buying the packages individually. As we write, for instance, PowerDirector 10 Deluxe is $69.95, and PowerDVD 12 Standard is $49.95, so buying Media Suite instead looks like it will save you $19.95 on those two apps alone and get you everything else for free.

However, the math is actually a little more complicated than that, because Media Suite 10 uses special and slightly cut-down versions of its various applications. The Media Suite 10 Ultra, for instance, doesn’t include PowerDirector Ultra, but instead comes with PowerDirector HE3D, which has a simpler workspace and assorted minor omissions (you can’t export to MPEG-2 with Dolby Digital 5.1, for instance).

If you think you might be interested, then, it’s absolutely essential that you try before you buy. And, fortunately, trial builds of Media Suite 10 Ultra and Pro are available. The only problem: all this functionality makes for monster downloads, each over 1.5GB in size, so patience may be required before you can try the packages out for yourself.

Photo Credit:  cybrain/Shutterstock

For all practical purposes, Tim Cook has run Apple since cofounder, and then CEO, Steve Jobs' January 2009 medical leave. Sure Jobs returned six months later and continued his micromanaging ways, but Cook, as COO, continued responsibility for day-to-day operations. He already had distinguished himself as a logistics genius, at Compaq and for a decade at Apple, before assuming Jobs' daily role -- and becoming CEO in August 2011. Cook's influence on the current state of Apple cannot be understated.

As I write Apple shares are up, following yesterday's stunning fiscal 2012 second quarter earnings results; net income rose a stunning 94 percent year over year. The stock closed down 2 percent yesterday, but shot up more than 7 percent in after-hours trading. Apple closed at $560.28 yesterday and opened at $615.99 today. But the measure of Cook's success, and why he is the better man to run Apple, is much more than rising share price. It's really about performance.

Dollars and Sense

During fiscal first quarter 2012 (synchronous with calendar Q4 2011) Apple generated more revenue ($46.33 billion) than all fiscal 2009 ($42.9 billion). During the first half of fiscal 2012, Apple generated more revenue ($85.83 billion) than all fiscal 2010 ($65.23 billion). If Apple meets or surpasses targets for fiscal third quarter, revenue for the first nine months will top all of fiscal 2011 ($108.25 billion).

Looked at differently, Apple's net income for the first fiscal half of 2012 ($24.12 billion) exceeds that of fiscal 2009 and 2010 combined ($22.25 billion) and is surprisingly close to all of fiscal 2011 ($25.9 billion). This all happened effectively on Cook's watch and is measure of his influence and performance long before officially becoming Apple CEO last summer.

Finally, under Cook, Apple delivers performance that meets Jobs' hype and the reality distortion field that long kept interest in the company, its products and stock. Effectively, Apple has traded reality distortion for reality -- and unequivocally Cook deserves more credit than Jobs. It's one thing to design pretty products and something altogether different to sell them. There Cook's manufacturing and distribution genius has proved greater than Apple cofounder's.

These numbers speak for themselves, as do milestones like: May 2010, Apple market capitalization tops Microsoft, to become world's most valuable tech company; August 2011, Apple's market capitalization passed Exxon to become world's most valuable company.

The Devices' Story

Then there are the hard device numbers. Jobs may have had the vision with iPhone, which launched in June 2007, but Cook executed on it, particularly in 2010 and 2011, with launches of iPad and iPad 2 and iPhone 4 and 4S.

At the end of calendar 2011, Apple had 315 million cumulative iOS device sales. The 55 million iPads sold to then accounted for 17 percent of the total and iPhone, with 175 million sold, 56 percent.

But 2011 was the break-out year for iOS devices -- 156 million, according to Asymco's calculations. So Apple sold 49.5 percent of all iOS devices in a single year, which indicates considerable accelerated momentum.

According to company financial filings, for calendar 2011, Apple sold 92.95 million iPhones and 40.45 million iPads -- generating $61 billion and $24.95 billion revenue, respectively. For all calendar 2011, all Apple generated $127.84 billion revenue. The two products accounted for 67 percent of the company's sales for the year (again referring to calendar and not Apple's fiscal year).

Three months later, end of first calendar quarter 2012 (and Apple's fiscal second) and cumulative iOS device sales are 365 million, as stated during yesterday's earnings call. Apple sold 50 million iOS devices in the quarter, generating $29.8 billion revenue, or 76 percent of the total.

Measuring the Men

I proposed this story to my BetaNews colleagues more than a month ago and planned on writing it since mid-February. But I kept holding back and decided to wait until Apple announced fiscal Q2 earnings. That was wise, considering how strongly the first two quarters compare to everything else and demonstrate the wisdom of decisions Cook made years ago, which Jobs obviously supported. Recent results derive from plans in motion long before Cook took the chief executive's chair.

There's something else, which must be stated but unfortunately will draw fire from the Apple faithful: Jobs' ego hindered Cook's genius. For years before Job's 2009 medical leave, the company made asinine distribution decisions that courted to his need for attention. Apple kept products secret, so that showman Jobs could bask before the attention of "one more thing" unveilings.

Practically, such approach is manufacturing and distribution lunacy. Rather than have products in channel to sell, Apple had to hold back -- sometimes even production -- leading to delayed distribution and shortages. The strategy also cut into margins, as Apple had to assume heavier costs ramping up production and rapidly shipping to customers.

Something's different now: I preordered iPhone 4 in 2010 and it shipped FedEx from China. This year, my family preordered the new iPad and it shipped from California, which suggests, as rumored, that Apple prepped the channel -- something that would have been harder under Jobs' leadership.

Perhaps Apple gross margins reflects some of the sanity returning to manufacturing distribution. In fiscal second quarter, they rose 6 points year over year to 47.4 percent.

I've been writing about Apple product shortages for more than a decade. What differentiates now and then is reality distortion vs. reality. In the early 2000s, Apple suffered from supply-side problems. More recently, shortages are all about overwhelming demand.

Cook understands this newer supply problem is all about distribution logistics, that's why he repeatedly turned to the topic during yesterday's earnings call. For example, going on at length about China:

We have expanded point of sales. On a year-over-year basis Mac is up 70 percent, but still only 1,800 [outlets] for all of greater China. Obviously there is a lot more opportunity there. iPhone we're up over 11,000, which is up 138 percent. But 11,000 is a much smaller than the number we have in the US. Obviously China in the next few years will be a bigger opportunity. iPad is only in 2,500 points of sale. Yes, we've expanded, expanded a lot. However, there is a lot of headroom here in our view.

During the quarter, Asia-Pacific region passed Europe to become second largest in revenue. If the trend continues China may exceed all of Europe in a couple quarters. During fiscal Q2, China generated $7.9 billion compared to $8.8 billion for Europe. Distribution is the key, something Cook understands. He visited China this month. Would Jobs have?

Cook has done for Apple, what Jobs couldn't. Make reality distortion a reality. Make Apple the most successful technology company on the planet.

Vision is one thing. Execution is another.

Piriform Inc has updated its freeware Windows cleaning tool with added support for the latest versions of Firefox and Chrome. CCleaner 3.18 also adds a multi-select tool to the detailed results view, providing users with more control over choosing which items to clean from their computer.

Version 3.18, which is also available as a standalone portable tool, also adds cleaning tools for a handful of new applications, plus a number of feature and interface improvements, and minor bug fixes. Version 3.18 adds three specific new features: support for the recently released Firefox 12 and Google Chrome 20, currently available as an alpha Dev build.

It also introduces a new multi-select tool: after scanning the computer and providing a results summary, users can double-click an entry to view its details up close. The multi-select tool comes into play here, allowing the user to [Ctrl]-click any entries they wish, then right-click to access more options, such as excluding those items from being cleaned.

CCleaner 3.18 also includes a number of improvements, including better support for 64-bit IE add-ons, an improved folder detection algorithm for cleaning items, interface tweaks (including scrolling interface for including and excluding dialogue boxes) and better compatibility with Windows 7’s [Alt] + [Tab] functionality.

The Driver Wiper tool benefits from a better interface, while version 3.18 adds support for cleaning GIMP 2.8, Corel VideoStudio Pro X5 and MS Security Client, while beefing up its support for OpenOffice 3 and AIMP 3. The update is rounded off with a number of unspecified minor user-interface tweaks and bug fixes.

CCleaner 3.18 and CCleaner 3.18 Portable are available now as a freeware download for PCs running Windows 2000 or later. A separate OS X build, CCleaner for Mac 1.02, is also available.

Photo Credit: Goydenko Tatiana/Shutterstock

Microsoft has released Security Essentials 4.0, the latest version of its lightweight, straightforward antivirus package.

The bulk of the changes this time are under the hood. MSE’s “Automatic Remediation” now does a better job of quarantining threats on its own, for instance, no user intervention required. And Microsoft claims scanning performance and malware detection rates have both improved on the previous build.

The program can now also use the Microsoft Active Protection Service (the new name for SpyNet) to automatically report malware to Microsoft, helping the company to create new definitions and more quickly respond to new outbreaks. (Although, of course, if you’d rather the program didn’t “phone home” at all then you can turn this off entirely.)

And there’s the obligatory minor interface tweak or two, all of which help make Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 just a little easier to use.

In theory, at least, the program should be automatically made available to existing users via Microsoft Update. In which case clicking About Security Essentials (from the Additional Help Options menu) should reveal a Security Essentials and Antimalware Client version of 4.0.1526.0 or greater.

Some people are reporting this hasn’t worked for them, though, and if you’re one of them -- or you just want to try out the program for the first time -- then Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 32-bit and 64-bitdownloads are available now.

Today after the closing bell, Apple announced fiscal 2012 second quarter results, with earnings up a staggering 94 percent year over year. But one region -- and within it a single country -- stood out for performance and closed on the United States as Apple's most important market as measured by sales.

Apple revenue to Asia-Pacific rose a staggering 114 percent to $10.15 billion. That data excludes Japan, where sales soared 91 percent. By comparison, Americas revenue topped $13.2 billion, up 41 percent year over year. During the quarter, Asia-Pacific pushed past Europe to be Apple's second most important region, as measured by revenue. In that region, China rises above all other countries.

"It was an incredible quarter in China", says Apple CEO Tim Cook, speaking during today's earnings conference call. "Revenue was a record at $7.9 billion in greater China, which is up over three times year over year and brings the first half revenue for greater China to $12.4 billion. That compares to a full year of last year of $13.3 billion".

Stated differently, China accounted for 78 percent of Asia-Pacific region revenues fiscal second quarter.

"Part of this was the pent-up demand for iPhone 4S", he explains. "As you know we launched in mainland China in January. China was not able to get into the Q1 period, so all of that is in Q2".

Demand was so great for iPhone 4S, Apple postponed the launch to protect store employees and customers. Crowds nearly rioted.

"We also have very strong demand for iPad 2", Cook says. "We have not shipped in China yet the new iPad, although we are shipping in Hong Kong".

Apple's iPad and iPhone sales success has other benefits. "It's a combination of these things and the halo that both of these products has produced for the Mac is also incredible", Cook explains. "Mac was up over 60 percent year over year, and that compares to a market rate of growth of about 6 percent".

What China lacks, particularly compared to North America, is distribution. "We have expanded point of sales", Cook says. "On a year-over-year basis Mac is up 70 percent, but still only 1,800 [outlets] for all of greater China. Obviously there is a lot more opportunity there. iPhone we're up over 11,000, which is up 138 percent. But 11,000 is a much smaller than the number we have in the US. Obviously China in the next few years will be a bigger opportunity. iPad is only in 2,500 points of sale. Yes, we've expanded, expanded a lot. However, there is a lot of headroom here in our view".

China's broader importance to Apple cannot be understated, particularly in a country where many Internet users will first use smartphone, or even tablet, as first connected device -- rather than a PC. It's a market all cloud-connected device makers covet.

"It is mindbggling that we could do this well", Cook exclaims.

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Phung

Apple investors expressed their nervousness this week, following earnings reports from AT&T and Verizon. Carrier iPhones sales sagged from calendar fourth quarter -- and why should they not, considering the holidays and iPhone 4S launch. So the question for Apple today: How many iPhones sold during fiscal second quarter, and iPads, for that matter.

Apple shipped 5.2 million Macs, 11.8 million iPads and 35.1 million iPhones during the quarter. Analyst consensus was around 4 million, 11 million and 33.5 million, respectively. Number of iOS devices sold to date: 365 million.

For fiscal Q2, Apple reported $39.2 billion revenue and net profits of $11.06 billion, or $12.30 a share. A year earlier, the company reported revenue of $24.67 billion and $5.99 billion net quarterly profit, or $6.40 per share. Net profit rose by 94 percent.

Three months ago, Apple forecast $32.5 billion in revenue for fiscal 2012 second quarter, with earnings per share of $8.50. Analyst average estimates were higher than Apple guidance: $36.81 billion revenue and $10.06 earnings per share.

Gross margins rose a stunning 6 points year over year to 47.4 percent. International sales accounted for 64 percent of revenues.

Looking ahead to fiscal third quarter, Apple projects $34 billion revenue and $8.68 earnings per share.

Apple ended the quarter with $110.2 billion in cash, up from 97.6 billion three months earlier.

After closing down 2 percent today, Apple shares jumped more than 7 percent in after-hours trading.

Q2 2012 Revenue by Product

• Desktops: $1.56 billion, up 8 percent from $1.44 billion a year earlier.
• Portables: $3.5 billion, down 7 percent from $3.7 billion a year earlier.
• iPod: $1.2 billion, down 25 percent from $1.6 billion a year earlier.
• Music: $2.51 billion, up 32 percent from $1.6 billion a year earlier.
• iPhone: $22.7 billion, up 85 percent from $12.3 billion a year earlier.
• iPad: $6.6 billion, up 132 percent from $2.84 billion a year earlier.
• Peripherals: $643 million, up 11 percent from $580 million a year earlier.
• Software & Services: $832 million, up 12 percent from $743 million a year earlier.

iPhone. Apple shipped 35.1 million iPhones worldwide during fiscal second quarter, up from 18.65 million iPhones a year earlier. That's an 88 percent increase, year over year. Wall Street analyst average estimate was about 33.5 million units. Apple counts shipments into the channel, typically making them several million units higher than numbers released by Gartner, which measures actual sales.

During the quarter, iPhone 4S was available in 100 countries from 230 carriers. Apple ended the quarter with 8.6 million units in the channel, up 2.4 million sequently for 4 to 6 weeks of inventory.

Recent analyst data bodes well for iPhone. Earlier this month, Nielsen reported a huge surge in the number of new purchasers choosing iPhones compared to Android. For the three months ending in February, 48 percent of Americans who recently bought a smartphone, chose Android -- 43 percent iPhone, according to Nielsen. A year earlier, 27 percent of new acquirers chose Android versus 10 percent for iPhone.

comScore reports share for overall market, not new purchasers. During the three months ending in February, Android share was 50.1 percent among smartphone subscribers 13 and older -- that's up 3.2 points. iOS: 30.2 percent, up 5 points year over year and 1.5 points three months earlier. Those numbers are fairly consistent with Nielsen's: 48 percent for Android and 32 percent for iOS.

But Verizon caused some market panic following news it activated 3.2 million iPhones during first calendar quarter, a 1-millon sequential decrease. I don't see a problem in that but something else: Quarter on quarter, iPhone dropped from 58 percent to about half of Verizon smartphone sales, based on activations. Android is gaining, no doubt propelled by 4G LTE.

Q2 2012 Unit Shipments by Product

• Desktops: 1.2 million units, up 19 percent from 1 million units a year earlier.
• Portables: 2.82 million units, up 2 percent from 2.75 million units a year earlier.
• iPod: 7.7 million units, down 15 percent from 9.02 million units a year earlier.
• iPhone: 35.1 million units, up 88 percent from 18.65 million units a year earlier.
• iPad: 11.8 million units, up 151 percent from 4.7 million units a year earlier.

iPad. Apple shipped 11.8 million iPads globally during the quarter -- that's up from 4.7 million -- a 151 percent -- a year earlier.

Apple ended the quarter with 2 million iPads in the channel, that's down 300,000 units sequentially, for 4 to 6 weeks in inventory. About a month ago, my daughter said that San Diego School District would buy iPads for 2012-13. Today, during Apple's earnings conference call, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer says that the school district bought 10,000 iPads during fiscal Q2 and will get another 15,000 this quarter.

"The new iPad is on fire", Oppenheimer says, adding that Apple is selling as fast as it can make them. Supplies are constrained globally. New iPad is available in 40 countries.

Analysts repeatedly asked about the impact of $399 iPad 2 on overall sales. Apple CEO Tim Cook says that lower pricing definitely appeals to educational buyers and in some geographic markets. However, Apple isn't yet certain about the final sales mix between iPad 2 and new iPad.

iPad continues to dominate the tablet market, and it's an increasingly important category. In a report issued yesterday, Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillett proclaims: "Tablets will rule the future personal computing landscape". He predicts the global install base of tablets will be 760 million by 2016, with 375 million sold just in that year -- one third of them to businesses.

He predicts that "tablets will become our primary computing device".

Q2 2012 Revenue by Geography

• Americas: $13.2 billion, up 41 percent from $9.32 billion a year earlier.
• Europe: $8.81 billion, up 46 percent from $6.03 billion a year earlier.
• Japan: $2.65 billion, up 91 percent from $1.38 billion a year earlier.
• Asia Pacific: $10.15 billion, up 114 percent from $4.74 billion a year earlier.
• Retail: $4.4 billion, up 38 percent from $3.2 billion a year earlier.

Computers. Mac shipments rose significantly during fiscal second quarter. Apple sold -- what company executives really mean by shipped -- 4 million Macs during the quarter, up from 3.54 million units during fiscal Q2 2011; growth was 7 percent year over year. Wall Street consensus was about 4.5 million units worldwide.

Apple PC growth easily beats the market at large. Two weeks ago, Gartner and IDC reported dismal global shipments. IDC put year-over-year growth at 2.3 percent, but only 1.9 percent by Gartner's estimates. The hard drive shortage had nominal impact compared to fourth calendar quarter.

The Mac is big windfall benefactor of the PC shipment/sales crisis, because:

• Apple's brand is sizzling hot right now.
• Most people use Windows, which is old to them if upgrading, while the Mac is fresh.
• iPad cannibalizes Windows PC sales, as businesses and consumers buy the tablet as upgrade companion or even replacement.
• Apple is more insulated from the hard drive shortage, in part because of how it sources components compared to most other computer makers.

"The consumer segment continued to be a drag on market growth, as PC demand was low", Mikako Kitagawa, Gartner principal analyst, says. "Questions remain on whether low-end systems can attract consumers, as their attention has moved to other devices". Reiterating previous observations, Gartner again highlighted smartphones and tablets as leaders among those "other devices".

But those consumer sales problems are specific to the larger industry, and not Apple. In the United States, Apple ranks third. IDC puts market share at 10 percent and Gartner at 10.6 percent.

Q2 2012 Unit Shipments by Geography

• Americas: 1.21 million units, flat from 1.21 million units a year earlier.
• Europe: 1.05 million units, up 5 percent from 995,000 units a year earlier.
• Japan: 158,000 units, up 2 percent from 155,000 units a year earlier.
• Asia Pacific: 771,000 units, up 29 percent from 596,000 units a year earlier.
• Retail: 826,000 units, up 4 percent from 797,000 units a year earlier.

iPod. Apple shipped 7.7 million iPods during fiscal first quarter, down from 9.02 million a year earlier -- a 15 percent decline. iPod touch accounted for more than half of units sold. Apple ended the quarter with 4 to 6 weeks of inventory.

iTunes revenue: $1.9 billion, up 35 percent year over year.

Retail. Revenue was $4.4 billion up 38 percent year over year. Apple retail stores sold 826,000 Macs during the quarter. Apple opened two new stores for 363 worldwide. With average 361 stores open for the quarter, they generated $12.2 million each.

Photo Credit: Francesco Dazzi/Shutterstock

Google on Tuesday finally rolled out the long-rumored Google Drive cloud storage platform to compete with the likes of Dropbox, Skydrive, Box, iCloud, and all the rest.

But let's put cloud storage competition aside for a moment. When Google Drive was announced, I was immediately reminded of a recent quote in the New York Times:

"We took out $150 in build materials, things like expensive memory..."

That statement came from Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang in an interview he gave the New York Times at the end of March. In the interview, the executive discussed upcoming Tegra-powered Android tablets and the possible Tegra-powered Chromebook.

Scott Johnston, the product manager for Google Drive has already said "deep integration" with Chrome OS is coming soon for Google Drive, so naturally, one begins to wonder about the fabled "Nexus Tablet."

The rumor is that Google will soon be launching its own low cost branded tablet to compete with the highly successful, but highly walled-off-from-Google's-services Kindle Fire.

The Kindle Fire comes with 8GB of internal storage, which is supported by 5GB of free Amazon cloud storage where users can store their books, movies, music, or apps. For an additional $20 per year, users get 20 GB of storage space plus an unlimited amount of space for mp3 files.

If storage is the type of "memory" Nvidia is skimping on, integration with Google Drive could certainly provide a nice boost.

Adding fuel to the tablet speculation, Google opened a new version of its Web-based store for selling Android hardware on Tuesday. This was the retail birthplace of the entire Nexus line of Android products that began in the first month of 2010, and was shut down five months later. Now, the shop has re-opened in Google Play with just a single device: the unlocked Galaxy Nexus, and a heading marked "Devices."

One of the most eagerly anticipated online storage services -- and one of the worst kept secrets in computing -- has finally seen the light of day. Google Drive has, at long last, been unveiled after years of rumors and speculation, working in much the same way as the likes of Dropbox and providing users with 5GB of cloud storage free of charge.

In many ways, the release of Google Drive can be seen as more of an update to Google Docs, and this is clear for Android users who will find that their Google Docs app will update and become Google Drive.

In terms of online use, working with Google Drive is virtually indistinguishable from Google Docs and any files you have already created in Docs will have been transferred across ready for you to use. All of the usual search and sorting options are available, and there are also a few cool extras such as OCR that can be used to convert your PDF files and images into a format that can be searched.

As you would expect, there are a couple of desktop app available, one for Mac and one for Windows, and there is also an Android app for free download in Google Play. There will be an iOS version of the app released at some point in the future, but there may be a delay in it hitting the App Store as it makes its way through Apple’s vetting process. The desktop app is a simple affair that enables you to synchronize your online files with your Mac or PC, while the mobile app enables you to access any of the files you have stored or synched online.

5GB is a reasonable amount of storage space to get started with, but if you feel like it’s not going to be enough, there are a number of upgrades for you to choose from. You can get 25GB for $2.49 a month, 100GB for $4.99 a month, or even 1TB for $49.99 a month, and these are prices that compare very well with the competition.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the app by paying a visit to the review pages – Google Drive for Mac and PC and Google Drive for Android.

This just in from Microsoft: Windows 8 release candidate won't be the only one coming your way in less than six weeks. Expect Windows Server 2012, too. "The Windows 8 Release Preview will be publicly available in the first week of June 2012", Microsoft's Jeffrey Snover says. "We plan to deliver a release candidate of Windows Server 2012 in the same timeframe".

Windows & Windows Live President Steven Sinofsky revealed the June RC for the desktop operating system earlier today in Tokyo. Concurrent Windows Server 2012 release candidate isn't surprising given the operating systems share common code and development has tracked closely all along.

Last week, Microsoft formally named Windows Server 2012, which is a cornerstone of the company's public and private -- really, hybrid -- cloud strategy. Both products are tracking for October launch, although urgency is less with Windows Server 2012. Microsoft's PC partners are counting on Windows 8 to boost holiday device sales. Business sales aren't seasonal.

Photo Credit: gualtiero boffi/Shutterstock

My wife and I just about collapsed laughing while watching Conan last night. Episode's highlight: Two videos -- one for IKEA's Uppleva television. Team Coco isn't waiting for the official release and offers set-up instructions now.

The other segment, featuring a video, may not be SFW. Conan O`Brien accepts viewer responses, via YouTube, about mistakes he makes during the show. Last night, he went to great lengths to get around one. Keep liquids away from your computer before watching this one.

Web album creator jAlbum has been updated to version 10.6 with a range of bug fixes and feature enhancements. Mac users can now take advantage of a native file chooser that can be used to add folders and images to an album, but there are also numerous tweaks and updates to the Windows and Linux versions of the app to take a look at.

One of the great things about jAlbum is that skins can used to create a completely unique look for your online albums, helping to avoid the risk of looking like everyone else's. This minor update includes an updated version of the Turtle skin, but most of the changes are under the hood. Translators have been hard at work providing updated text in Brazilian Portuguese, German, English, Swedish, French, Spanish, Finnish, Slovak, Polish, Slovenian, Romanian and Korean, and language information is now added to published albums.

Other changes include the ability to sign out of your account and leave your license active and a slightly modified way to activating a software license. While none of the changes and additions are particularly ground-breaking, these are merely polishing tweaks to an established and accomplished app that provides users with a powerful and flexible way to create galleries to show off their digital photographs.

As you would expect from any program update, there are also a range of bugs fixes including one that prevented certain PNG files from being processed. If you have experienced problems with the code generated by jAlbum, you should hopefully find that these issues have been addressed in the latest release as there have been a number of changes made to fix specific errors.

You can find out more and download a free trial of the app by paying a visit to the jAlbum 10.6 review page.

Photo Credit: marekuliasz/Shutterstock

What do sexually transmitted diseases and Mac viruses share in common? Surprisingly lots, according to security software developer Sophos. People can spread both without exhibiting symptoms, and the infection rates for "Macs carrying malware and level of Chlamydia infection amongst young people" are about the same.

Say what? That's the question asked in BetaNews group chat this morning about the seemingly strange correlation. But it makes sense to me. My colleague Tim Conneally gets it, too. He observed (after doing a little research): "One in 4 people with Chlamydia have no symptoms. They're saying it's spreading but not affecting the host". That's exactly Sophos' point. The firm found a shocking number of Macs infected with PC viruses, in a 100,000 sampling. The Macs are immune but can infect Windows PCs.

Not long ago, Apple tweaked its OS X security page by removing something: "Mac OS X doesn't get PC viruses". That's absolutely true. Most viruses are designed for Windows and, therefore, don't infect Macs. But as the Sophos study shows, Macs sure can carry Windows viruses. Sophos finds that one in five Macs carry Windows malware, which can be spread by email and other means. One in 36 -- that's 2.7 percent -- are infected with Mac malware.

"Amazingly, some of the malware discovered by Sophos on the 100,000 Mac computers sampled dates back to 2007, and would have been easily detected if the users had run an anti-virus sooner", Graham Cluley, Sophos senior technology consultant, observes.

Like Windows, "malware can spread onto Macs via USB drives, email attachments, website download, or even a silent drive-by installation where the user doesn't realize their Mac's security has been subverted", Cluley explains. "Some Apple fans might feel relieved that they are seven times more likely to have Windows malware on their Macs than Mac OS X-specific threats, but they shouldn't be".

The recent Flashback Trojan, which infected 700,000 Macs and may still persistent on 500,000, is good example. That's not some asymptomatic Windows malware but something catchable by OS X.

"Sadly, cybercriminals view Macs as a soft target, because their owners are less likely to be running anti-virus software", Cluley warns. According to complimentary BetaNews polls, 74 percent of respondents do not have anti-malware installed on their primary Macs, while 92 percent of Windows users do.

"Bad guys may also believe that Mac users are likely to have a higher level of disposable income than the typical Windows user" Cluley speculates. "So, they might believe the potential for return is much higher". I've often wondered about that and am surprised attacks against Macs aren't greater because of it.

Linking Mac and Chlamydia infection-rates is brilliant. For one, it's a startling, memorable analogy. For another, the analogy links together pervasive behavior about taking unnecessary risks against viruses -- being unprotected. Finally, there is the youth angle, since the same demographic often seen using Macs also has high rates of STD infection.

Cluley makes the important point: "Just like malware on your computer, Chlamydia commonly shows no obvious symptoms. But left undetected Chlamydia can cause serious problems, such as infertility". He notes that some countries have created national screening programs to test people under 25, annually, for Chlamydia.

Maybe there should something like this for Macs. Once a year, Apple, working with security software developers, offers a free check up to scan and rid Macs of malware -- with special emphasis on clearing out the crap spread to Windows users.

Photo Credit: Vasilchenko Nikita/Shutterstock

Though the newest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, has been available for a little more than six months, its availability has been extremely limited. Only 2.9% of Android users were running it first week of April, according to the Android Developer Dashboard.

Samsung on Tuesday released an updated list of the U.S. devices that will receive an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich, bringing its total number of devices with the operating system version up to thirteen.

AT&T: Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Galaxy Note, Captivate Glide, Nexus S, Galaxy Tab 8.9
Sprint: Nexus S 4G, Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch
Verizon: Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 7.7
Wi-Fi Only: Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 10.1

T-Mobile customers, as of right now, have no ICS upgrades to look forward to. However, Samsung says it is "in close communication with T-Mobile to ensure that eligible devices are upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the coming months," and that it will provide updates as additional details arise.

Slowly but surely, the most popular smartphone and tablet manufacturers have each published lists of the devices that will receive the Android 4.0 upgrade, so it looks like a big shift to Ice Cream Sandwich will soon be under way.

HTC published its list at the end of 2011 which included eight devices that would get the upgrade at various times depending upon the regional carrier.

In February, Motorola published its comprehensive ICS upgrade roadmap, but currently only one device, the Xoom tablet has been upgraded.

In March, media player and tablet company Archos began rolling out its upgrades, and both Acer and Asus followed suit with their own rollouts.

Just two weeks ago, Sony published the list of Xperia smartphones that would upgrade to Android 4.0. Now, it's just a matter of time before these upgrades are rolled out to customers.

While I was sleeping -- and perhaps you, too -- Microsoft announced that one more public Windows 8 test build will come before the code is gold. Right now, Windows 8 Release Preview will be available the first week of June. What? Microsoft no longer calls these things release candidates? Timing is tight, unless Windows & Windows Live president Steven Sinofsky and his team exude absolute confidence they can finalize code in time for autumn launch.

It's a narrow path from early June release candidate to August release to manufacturing to October launch, unless there are no major changes from the Consumer Preview released in February or last-minute show-stopping bugs. You can read this as sign that Windows 8 is rock-solid ready and that Sinofsky and team are absolutely certain about the operating system's readiness or that they need to stretch out the time as long as possible. The Consumer Preview came at the last possible milestone for Microsoft to ship this year, and the next one follows similar tight track.

Measuring Windows 7 Milestones

As I wrote nearly three months ago you can expect Windows 8 in October, or not at all this year. To get there, RTM must come no later than end of August.

By measure of Windows 7, its successor trails considerably behind development track for October, which is the last month to launch so that new PCs fill the channel before holiday sales begin in earnest. Microsoft released Windows 7 Beta 1 on Jan. 9, 2009. By measure of that milestone in 2012, Windows 8 Consumer Preview came about seven weeks later. Typically, Microsoft would have offered a second Windows 7 beta but went right to release candidate, on April 30, 2009. Windows 8 needs similar accelerated track to be ready for the holidays. Instead, we have late-April announcement about June release candidate.

Windows 7 RTM: July 22, 2009, about six weeks from release candidate. Early June is even longer between public preview and RC for Windows 8. Windows 7 launched on Oct. 22, 2009 -- or three months after RTM. By that measure, Windows 8 gold code should come in late July to make October release.

OEMs need time to test new Windows versions, put together software images and ship PCs into the channel. Even in this era of real-time manufacturing, retail remains the primary sales channel. PC manufacturers still need a good six weeks from final Windows code's release to manufacturing to actual launch -- a little longer to get PCs in stores. Ideally, then, Windows 8 must RTM by end of August to make October launch, which is best timeframe assuring the channel is stocked for Black Friday.

Problem: Windows 8 brings dramatic changes compared to its predecessor, particularly because of the aforementioned user interface changes -- touch-oriented Metro and legacy desktop, which nixes the Start Button and Menu and adds the Office Ribbon throughout. Customers, developers and hardware partners will have to adapt to these changes. The more time the better, and they may not have it.

Last Chance to RTM

The good news: Windows 8's development will only trail its predecessor's by about 5 weeks if Microsoft meets the early June milestone. That's a refreshing sign for October release, but bodes ill for customers hoping for major changes, particularly around the Metro UI. Reaction among BetaNews readers is largely negative, for example. It's now unlikely that changes will come, with such a late release candidate. If you don't like Metro, stick with Windows 7 or get used to it.

I believe that Microsoft can ship Windows 8 in time for the holidays. But the less time the ecosystem has to prepare the less likely truly exciting hardware designs and Metro-supporting applications will be ready for the holidays.

Still, there's sense to what I hope is going on at Microsoft. In the writing business, there are deadlines. A story is ready when the deadline comes, regardless of what more the editor or writer might want to change. That's good analogy for software development. The Windows ecosystem needs the operating system ready for holiday PCs. Windows 8 is ready enough when the deadline to ship comes -- and that's whatever Microsoft and partners decide when its to be, not predecessor operating systems.

Something else: Microsoft's announcement timing is brilliant, and I hope by design. Apple announces first calendar quarter earnings today. Today's Windows 8 announcement should silence some of the ridiculous pre-Apple earnings blathering that floods the InterWebs. To Steven Sinofsky, I offer thanks for dulling the Apple noise -- even for just a few hours.

It is only a week since Opera 12 added support for cameras, and since then two new builds have been released that push the development of the browser even further. Performance is of utmost importance for every computer user, and the latest builds of Opera Next have been improved with the implementation of hardware acceleration. Interestingly, hardware acceleration is an opt-in feature.

A new DirectX backend is available instead of OpenGL and the hardware acceleration is used to not only improve the rendering time for pages, but also boosts the speed of the user interface. In addition to the performance gains that come from the implementation of this new feature, overall performance of the browser has also been tweaked and stability problems arising from the use of plugins have been addressed.

Opera has supported right-to-left (RTL) web pages for quite some time now, and the latest snapshot bring the same support to the program interface. If you have your language set to Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew or Urdu the RTL UI will be loaded for you automatically, effectively creating a mirror image of what is usual displayed, with the order of menus and buttons reversed.

A somewhat more minor change to the browser is the new icon. The change is nothing major, amounting to little more than a bit of spit and polish, but it is another step along the road to completion.

You can find out more and download a copy of the latest version of the browser by paying a visit to theOpera Next 12.00 build 1385 review page. There’s also a 64-bit version of the browser available.

Microsoft on Monday launched a new version of SkyDrive, bringing the cloud-file sharing service to the desktop. This move did not come without a cost -- new users will have far less space, and current users only have a "limited time" to keep the generous storage the Redmond, Wash. company provides. But more on that a bit later.

The enhancements address problems with SkyDrive's browser-based interface which irk critics and customers. With desktop integration, cloud storage becomes a drag-and drop-process.

Microsoft is also pushing management and sharing enhancements to its mobile apps for iOS and Android. The desktop functionality comes via an application that sits on the system tray of OS X or in the taskbar on Windows.

Early adopters will welcome the changes, but many will make sacrifices to get them. Every user is now limited to 7GB of space by default, versus the 25GB of space the service launched with. That is a cut of more than two-thirds. If you want additional space, you're going to pay: an extra 20GB of space is $10 yearly, 50GB is $25, and 100GB is $50 per year.

"Since the current base of customers using SkyDrive tilts towards enthusiasts, we are confident that, as we expand the range of people using SkyDrive, this 7GB free limit will prove to be more than enough for even more people", Windows chief Steve Sinofsky says.

Sinofsky claims that 99.94 percent of current users use less than 7GB of space in order to justify the decrease. Furthermore, an overwhelming majority use 2GB or less. Right, but if most people use so little, why take it away. Microsoft loses little offering 25GB, but gains much from positive perceptions. After all, that huge amount raises Microsoft's cloud storage well above most competitors.

Not happy with the change? Users will be able to upgrade their storage for free back to the 25GB limit for a limited time, but must do so manually. Sinofsky nor Microsoft gives any timeline as to the expiration of the offer, but after that more storage will cost you. And if you aren't a current SkyDrive user -- or perhaps a Windows Live Mesh tester -- 7GB is all you're getting. Sorry, no extra free space for you.

"One of the challenges in building personal cloud storage for billions of people is scaling capacity and managing costs, while also meeting the needs of both enthusiasts and mainstream users", Sinofsky argues, deflecting the criticism towards unlimited storage services "with lots of strings attached". Microsoft seems to think that the freedom of use, such as the capability to upload file sizes up to 2GB, is what sets the service apart from the competition.

How does SkyDrive compare? Dropbox only offers 2GB of storage for free: 50GB of space is available for $99 annually and 100GB for $199. Google's rumored cloud storage service Google Drive is believed to offer only 5GB of free space. Microsoft is definitely ahead of the curve.

Despite SkyDrive's advantages, it does seem somewhat disappointing that Microsoft has decided to make its SkyDrive product only marginally more attractive than competing options. Sinofsky's long-winded post announcing the changes to the product seem like a lot of extra words just to say our service will have much less storage.

The question is: Wouldn't 25GB of storage now be more useful considering desktop integration is a key new feature? I think it's a safe bet people are about to use a whole lot more space now that it is easier than ever to share files to the SkyDrive cloud.

Photo Credit: Ovchynnikov Oleksii/Shutterstock

Indeed, these are the kinds of problems we would love to have, but when they actually occur we need solutions nonetheless. So, how do you handle the issues that occur when audience demand overwhelms the infrastructure you have provisioned to serve your content?

A few years ago, my company was approached by Latin Interactive Network (LIN), a publisher of online games across Latin America, including countries like Peru, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. LIN handles several successful MMOs in these territories, including the Spanish-language version of Audition Online, a unique free-to-play dance battle game. Audition is a big favorite, and in Latin America alone, the game is now played by half a million players per month. This is welcome news for LIN, of course, but not always so welcome for Audition gamers who may be stuck using outdated and underpowered infrastructure...

Not long ago, I wrote about the difficulty of expanding the online games business into Latin America, and I cited sluggish Internet speeds and failing downloads as one of the biggest obstacles to distribution. Audition Online, for example, has an installer client that is 2.2 GB, and daily patches ranging from 60MB to 200MB. LIN had been using a traditional Content Delivery Network (CDN) to push this data to their users, and every time a new patch went live, their CDN usage would spike.

Speeds would slow to a crawl and file transfers would drop as hundreds of thousands of users all attempted to fight over FTP connections. With only so much bandwidth to go around on the already-taxed Telefonica network, the CDN could only serve so many users at once, which was leading to failed patch deliveries, frustrated players and decreased user retention.

I’ve written before that ease of delivery is crucial to success in the F2P market. If a user hasn’t paid into your game yet, there is no commitment to keep them from walking away if they feel frustrated when trying to download. For LIN, suddenly having a game be “too popular” was catastrophic: the upper limit for their audience was being defined by the capacity of their CDN.

Pando was able to solve LIN’s specific problem by adding client-side patching to assist the overtaxed CDN servers.  By distributing the high data volume across the network, rather than trying to force it all through a single main artery, LIN saw download speeds increase tenfold and the patch completion rate jumped to 99 percent. This in turn led to a larger audience, more concurrent users, and an overall increase of in-game purchases.

Adding secure client-side delivery is not the solution to everybody’s network problems. The ultimate lesson here is to remain flexible and be prepared to explore outside of traditional protocols.

To many people today, clicking a download link on a web page seems as simple as turning on a light switch or a water faucet. In truth, there are many variables affecting online media delivery, including concurrent demand, network capacity, and the physical location of CDN servers (just to name a few).

As the Internet and wireless networks become even more popular media distribution platforms and as cloud services expand, data volumes will climb exponentially and network capacity issues will arise. The solution may come in the form of different protocols, better compression, or eventually higher capacity networks. No matter which methods we come to rely on, there will always be periods of peak demand -- new game patches, prime-time video streaming, and more. We need flexible networks with elastic capacity to handle those moments.

We all want to deliver the next big MMO title.  But even a blockbuster like Audition can only go so far if we can’t get it in front of our players.

Robert Levitan is CEO Pando Networks. Prior to founding Pando, he cofounded iVillage, Flooz.com and YearLook Enterprises. In between starting companies from scratch and some adventures in world travel, Levitan serves on the board of the Executive Council of New York and New York Cares, a service organization that coordinates volunteers who work with children, the homeless and the elderly.

Popular file storage and sharing service Dropbox on Monday announced users can now share the contents of their Dropbox via a direct link that anyone can open, even if they're not a Dropbox user.

The feature is noteworthy because it deviates slightly from the traditional Dropbox sharing model. Instead of sharing files between Dropbox users, this feature simply links to content and makes it viewable.

From the Dropbox Web interface, desktop interface, or mobile application, users click "Get link," and they can then share their folders and files on a gallery-style webpage where other users can view, but not edit, the contents. Linked users can view pictures, powerpoint presentations, and videos without having to download and open them separately.

Naturally, the big application here is streaming music and video files, and when you link an .mp3 or .mov file with this new feature, it's embedded in a browser-based player. Many other single file formats, however, are still not supported by the in-browser player and can be downloaded (FLAC files, for instance) and also compressed file archives. So for former Megaupload users looking for a free way to share their files with a big audience, Dropbox can now serve as an option.

However, Dropbox will turn the contents of your private account over to the authorities if it has to, so if sharing files is your thing, make sure you only share what you own!

Dropbox had the following to add: “Dropbox explicitly prohibits copyright abuse. We’ve put in place a number of measures to ensure that our sharing feature is not misused. For example, there’s a copyright flag on every page allowing for easy reporting, we place bandwidth limits on downloads, and we prohibit users from creating links to files that have been subject to a DMCA notice. We want to offer an easy way for people to share their life’s work while respecting the rights of others.”

Samsung's new promo for next week's big mobile event is a real snoozer. It's nothing like those cheesy videos mocking iPhone users for being wannabe hipsters, who have such no lives they'll wait hours on end to buy a phone that looks exactly like the one owned now. Instead of chutzpah, galaxies pass before your eyes. Get it? New Galaxy device launch. Wake me, I fell asleep.

But wait for it. There's a pretty good punchline, if you can bear through the video's first 48 seconds. Be sure that if an iPhone user, Samsung means the dig for you.

It's amazing what you can do with Windows 8. In this video demo I show how you can convert your Windows 8 tablet into a mobile multimedia set-top box for your TV. You could also turn your tablet into a game console, if you want.

I use an Acer W500 tablet -- running Windows 8 Consumer Preview, of course -- plugged into the TV, without additional power (that's good for about four hours battery life). In this configuration, the Windows tablet is like a mobile set-top box.

What you'll need:

• HDMI cord
• Tablet running Windows 8
• Bluetooth/wireless mouse
• Wireless Xbox 360 controller
• BoothTooth keyboard (not required)

Software I use in the demo and where in the timeline you'll find it:

• Windows 8 Consumer Preview (All)
• Community Codec Pack + Windows Media Player Classic (1:05)
• iTunes (4:11)
• Web browser (6:15)
• PC Game : Flow (9:49)
• PC Game : Hydro Thunder (11:11)
• PC Game : Hydro Thunder + Wordament (16:30)
• PC Game : Angry Birds Seasons (22:19)
• PC Game : Need For Speed Underground 2 (23:08)
• Tablet On TV Via Clone Screens + Flow Demo Via Touch to TV (30:59)

Enjoy the video!

Travis Boyko has worked with computers since he was 3 years old. While other children played with toys, he learned DOS commands. He has used every Windows version, as well as Linux, OS/2, OS X, Unix and Windows Server. His software collection goes back to the 1980s and includes original boxes of Windows 1.0, Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0, Lotus 1-2-3 and Windows 7 Signature Edition 32-bit and 64-bit full versions.

Adobe took the wraps off Creative Suite 6 on Monday, introducing the largest release to date of the content-creation platform. CS6 now includes up to 12 programs and two companion applications, Bridge and Encore, and is available in four editions: Design Standard, Design and Web Premium, Production Premium, and Master Collection.

The CS6 beta is one of the most successful in the company's history, with one million downloads over the past month of availability alone, a record for Adobe. The move was slightly unusual considering the company typically does not offer large-scale betas of its products.

Photoshop gets notable upgrades including content-aware editing tools and video-editing capability, as well as performance enhancements that should speed the image-editing process. Photoshop Extended includes several new 3D image and new 2D design tools and an overall "darker" look: the user interface now uses blacks and greys versus the white UI of previous versions.

While Flash continues to be a part of the Creative Suite, Adobe seriously begins the transition to HTML5 in this release. Two new development applications take center stage, dubbed Muse and Edge. Muse will automate the process of developing HTML5 websites, while Adobe Edge assists in the creation of animated web content.

Creative Suite 6 packages range in price from $1,299 for Design Standard to $2,599 for the Master Collection. Customers can pre-order starting today with availability planned within 30 days, the company says.

Consider the Cloud

Those that find CS6 too costly might consider Adobe's push towards the cloud as alternative. For $49.99 per month, subscribers gain access to all 14 applications in the suite plus some additional benefits.

The idea of subscriptions is nothing new to Adobe, but the cloud aspect of the service is. Adobe is integrating its tablet app suite into CS6, and using the cloud to sync workflows between the desktop and tablet versions of applications -- 20GB of online storage is included in the monthly fee. The cloud will also deliver new functionality and updates before the general public has access, and assist in mobile app submission to the Apple App Store and Android marketplaces.

All in all, the focus on the cloud will make Creative Suite much more affordable for a broader segment of Adobe's customer base. That is welcome news for a company that has struggled in recent years to produce stable financial results.

Creative Cloud is perhaps the most intriguing part of CS6 as it signals the beginning of a shift towards cloud-based delivery of Adobe products. It also saves the end user a good deal of money. All 14 applications are available through the service. Considering CS6 Master Collection retails for $2,599, and Adobe's average release cycle is 12-18 months, a user who selects Creative Cloud over the physical media would save as much as $2,000 depending on what applications they download and the next major release of Creative Suite.

Creative Cloud will also sync work between desktop versions of CS6 and companion touch tablet apps. Creative Cloud Connection will save the necessary work in the cloud using the 20GB of space included with each account. Adobe does plan to make additional storage available in the future, it says.

Those interested should note that the $49.99 monthly fee is available to those agreeing to an annual contract. Those preferring month to month service will pay an extra $30 each month. As an incentive to owners of previous Creative Suite versions, Adobe is offering promotional discount pricing.

Owners of CS3, CS4, CS5 and CS5.5 will be able to register for Creative Cloud for $29.99 per month if they agree to a one-year contract, according to the company's website.

Photo Credit: Sergej Khakimullin/Shutterstock

If your PC gets attacked by some previously discovered specimen of malware then it’s relatively easy to spot. Your antivirus package will scan the new file on access, realize there’s a match for something in its virus database, and the threat will be quarantined immediately, before any real damage can be done.

If you’re attacked by some brand new specimen, though, it’s a very different story. Every antivirus package claims it can also detect new threats by behavior alone, but this is vastly more difficult: there’s a good chance that it’ll be missed. And so if you think your system might have been compromised, then it’s a good idea to get a little third-party scanning help from the free Mandiant Redline.

The program works by carrying out an extremely thorough low-level scan covering every aspect of your PC. This can take a very long time (it required more than 30 minutes on our test PC), although you can keep this down a little by closing all non-essential programs before you start. But when it’s finished the program will create an MRI (Malware Risk Index) score for everything running on your system, which highlights the risk that a particular process is malware.

It’s important to not expect too much from this. Redline works by applying very simple rules -- looking at executable files which aren’t signed and verified, for instance -- and so this inevitably creates a lot of false alarms. On our test PC, for instance, iTunesHelper.exe received a malware risk index of 93. There was actually a solid reason for this -- another application had inserted a DLL into its address space -- but we still knew the process wasn’t a threat. And it’ll be the same on your PC. The MRI scores provide a place to start looking for possibly malicious processes, but they’re not actually proof of anything in themselves; a high MRI doesn’t mean you’re infected.

If you’re an expert Windows user, then, the real value of Redline isn’t in the MRI scores; it’s more then in-depth system information that’s provided along with them.

For each target process, for instance, you can browse its handles (Files, Directories, Processes, Registry Keys, Semaphore, Mutant, Event or Section, they’re all here). There’s an in-depth memory map. You can view strings within each process space (as long as you’ve chosen to collect those initially), and see any network connections it has open.

And multiple “Investigative Steps” give you a more general view across your system. You can browse system hooks to try and detect rootkits, for instance. There’s an option to view low-level details on your installed drivers. And there are pages on your network ports and connections, memory sections and loaded DLLs, untrusted handles and a whole lot more.

None of this is exactly beginner-friendly, of course; Redline is oriented squarely at security professionals. If you know what you’re doing, though, there’s plenty of useful information to be found here, and the program really can help you to uncover even the very latest, previously undiscovered malware.

Photo Credit: bicubic/Shutterstock

If you can't beat them, manage them. It's a strategy that has worked well for Microsoft in the past, and it is emerging as a key element in announcements last week about how Microsoft will license Windows 8 in all its variations, including the x86 consumer, Professional and Enterprise editions, the embedded Windows RT and the cloud-based Windows Intune.

While Microsoft's primary goal is to stop Apple's growth in the enterprise, which it will do by tilting licensing policies in favor of Windows tablets, the company has a Plan B that will help monetize Apple and Android devices in the enterprise through management.

Rights are limited Without Changes

The most obvious way that Microsoft has tilted licensing in its favor is a provision that exempts devices running Windows RT from special virtualization licensing.

Today, most desktop virtualization rights are limited to customers who purchase Software Assurance (SA), Microsoft's upgrade and benefits add-on for volume licensees, when they buy Windows OS upgrades. (Microsoft doesn't sell full Windows licenses through volume-licensing programs.) SA, which costs up to $55 a year, gives businesses the right to run multiple virtual machines on their desktops and to access remote virtual machines.

If Microsoft did not change the rules, here's what you'd have to do if you had a device running Windows RT. Since it can't get a Windows upgrade (embedded OSes can't be upgraded to Windows) the user of this device would need to purchase a Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) subscription, which costs about twice as much as Software Assurance, for every Windows RT device.

Microsoft does have a "roaming right" that is available for users whose PCs have Software Assurance on Windows. It is supposed to let these users access a virtual desktop infrastructure from another device, but the fine print imposes bizarre restrictions -- no device that is controlled, even indirectly, by the licensee can be used this way. Microsoft says only something like a public kiosk is eligible. Also, the device can't run on the licensee's network. In short, the SA Roaming Right only permits access from untrusted devices over insecure networks, the kind of thing that most corporations will do their level best to block.

That language rules out home or personally owned PCs, since a PC used by the licensee's employee to get work done doesn't qualify as a third-party device. (Nevertheless, many Microsoft Web pages and informational documents erroneously include home PCs in the SA roaming right.)

Something Special about Windows RT

Windows 8 licensing fixes some of this. According to Microsoft's Windows blog, any user of a PC with Software Assurance on Windows who also has a device running Windows RT receives VDA rights and can use that device to access a VDI image in the corporate datacenter. No nonsense restricts this to a third-party device or forbids its use on corporate premises. It's what the SA Roaming Right should have been.

However, non-Windows devices don't get such a free ride. It's not good enough that an iPad user has a PC with SA on Windows. They also need to purchase a new Companion Device License.

The blog's description of the CDL has some quirks that deserve close examination. Aside from the fact that iPad owners need to buy it while Windows RT device owners don't, there's this:

• The CDL, even at extra costs doesn't level the playing field for non-Windows devices, since VDA rights are mentioned for Windows RT, but not for the CDL.
• Windows RT devices can use their VDA rights to access "a full VDI image running in the datacenter"; iPads get the right to access "their corporate desktop".
• The Windows RT right doesn't specify how many devices it applies to; the CDL applies to "four personally owned devices".

This information comes from a blog, and not from an official document like Microsoft Product Use Rights, but if we take it literally, it could put iPad and Android tablet owners at quite a disadvantage. Here's how:

1. Non-Windows devices may not have access to a virtual desktop infrastructure in the datacenter, which is easier to manage centrally. If they want that, they'll maybe have to buy the full VDA, which Windows RT devices get for free.

2. The rights offered by the CDL-- remote access to one's corporate desktop -- are not new. Anyone who is the primary user of a PC licensed for Windows already has the right to access that device from any other device, including an iPad. That's in the Windows EULA and it has been there for many years. In announcing a paid license that does the same thing, Microsoft may be removing the free "primary user" right, which would be a big loss. Today, tools like TeamViewer, LogMeIn, or GoToMyPC let iPad users access the PC in their cubicle and have full access to Office, SharePoint, and other corporate resources without paying another dime.

3. Use of company-owned iPads and Android tablets may be prohibited, even with the CDL, since it applies only to "personally owned" devices.

To sum this up, what we've seen so far suggests that WinRT devices will have a significant licensing advantage over non-Windows tablets. Microsoft is not only giving WinRT devices free access to VDI that others need to pay for, but it may be taking away rights that non-Windows devices have today, forcing customers to pay to get them back.

Windows Intune Device Management

On the off chance that iPads and Android tablets will still have a future in Windows shops after Windows tablets come out, Microsoft is prepared to make a little more money off them by providing management tools.

Windows Intune gives subscribers (at $132 a year) the right to install the latest version of Windows on their PC. A cloud-based console can be used to manage those PCs, push software out to them, make sure they have the latest antivirus signatures, and so on.

Intune is not a compelling offering for larger customers (although small customers with limited IT resources may find it attractive). Most enterprises already get the latest version of Windows and license some System Center tools for managing their desktops, so Intune is just an expensive way to get a Windows upgrade and some management tools.

However, it also includes the Software Assurance virtualization rights, without forcing customers to also buy a Windows upgrade that they may not need, and that's positive for some businesses.

In its next iteration, Intune will add management (but not SA virtualization rights) for devices that support Microsoft's ActiveSync technology, including iPads, iPhones and Android tablets and phones. ActiveSync doesn't offer the most comprehensive suite of management options, and in many cases the devices support only a fraction of the features that ActiveSync offers. Nevertheless, Intune may be the path of least resistance for a lot of customers who don't have a good mobile device management system in place today, and it could let Microsoft profit quite handsomely from all of those Apple and Android tablets.

If you count just $1 a month of the Intune fee as what you're paying for managing a non-Windows tablet, Microsoft is making $12 a year, and perhaps $36 over the life of the device for management features. That's more than the royalties Microsoft will ever get off Apple and Google.

Intune's underlying management technology comes from the new System Center 2012, which will offer broader management for non-Microsoft mobile devices and will further encourage customers to keep investing in Microsoft's management tools.

It echoes Microsoft's virtualization strategy. Where VMware charges big money for ESX and nice sums for VMware Workstation, Microsoft gives away Hyper-V and Virtual PC. But because most of the workloads running in those VMs, even on VMware's platform, are running Microsoft workloads and are best managed with Microsoft's System Center tools, the company is monetizing VMware's customers through management.

It looks like whether they win the tablet wars or not, they're determined to win the management wars.

Photo Credit:  olly/Shutterstock

Paul DeGroot is one of the world's leading experts on Microsoft licensing policies, rules and volume licensing programs. Over a ten-year period, he developed and led the licensing practice at Directions on Microsoft, an independent analyst firm focused on understanding Microsoft policies and strategies. DeGroot formed Pica Communications, LLC, where he is principal consult, in 2010, to bring his licensing expertise to a broad range of customers worldwide. Please follow him on Twitter.

Windows PC makers will start unveiling their first 2013 models from today. They are all desktops built around the maiden Ivy Bridge processors out of the chute, which Intel announced late this morning. Ivy Bridge is the working name for Intel’s 2013 models.

Intel decision-makers chafe whenever I refer to their processor generations as model years. In fact, executives throughout the PC ecosystem universally hate the term. They’d better all start embracing it, though. Because they’ll need to adopt a model-year mentality if they want to ensure continuing growth.

Good for Growth

These days, even the most casual observer can see that the PC industry could stand to use an injection of growth. First-quarter market estimates now are trickling in, and it appears that PC shipments were basically flat from last year. Some of us hold out hope that sleek, sexy new designs paired with a new Windows operating system will stimulate consumer interest and spark some growth by year’s end. I happen to subscribe to that point of view. But there are plenty of others who believe that the best days of the PC are behind us now that tablets permeate the landscape.

No doubt, media tablets divert cash that consumers might otherwise spend on new PCs. But it’s not the reason I’m advocating the model-year concept. Tablets are merely the latest new shiny thing to take advantage of the PC industry’s lack of a cadence and steal sales. There have been lots of others. Some of them, like tablets, prey on a weakness of PCs of the day. PDAs are another example of this.

Digression: why does the flight attendants’ narrative still include a passage giving us permission to turn on our PDAs once the plane is airborne? Raise your hand if you still use a PDA. In public, I mean. Where others can see you.

I thought so.

But electronic devices don’t have to be even remotely related for them to impact PC sales growth. Personal video recorders, flat-screen TVs, set-top gaming systems and MP3 players are just a few examples of items that sapped PC sales over the years. Consumers have limited funds to spend on electronics. So if there’s an exciting new gadget available, and the old PC still works tolerably, then the new laptop purchase will have to wait another year. That’s the hazard of high penetration rates.

The auto industry saved itself 90 years ago by adopting the model-year directive. After a couple short decades of rapid sales growth, the low-hanging fruit had all been plucked. Most households that could afford a car now had one. And they weren’t becoming obsolete. A five-year-old car could motor along at 45mph indistinguishably as well as a new car.

Date is Gentle Reminder

So what to do? Model years, that’s what. If managed properly, model years can serve as a gentle yet ever-present reminder to consumers that their ride is, well, outdated.

The PC ecosystem has been wrestling with a similar problem for decades. With few exceptions, four-year-old PCs can handle consumers’ demands today. So why not extend the replacement cycle for another year? Certainly, there is no compelling reason coming from the PC ecosystem to speed up replacement cycles.

I started preaching model years about 15 years ago, when I was on an advisory council at Microsoft. The folks in Redmond, Wash. said that model years were a good idea. Unfortunately, they couldn’t implement model years because they’re on a multi-year upgrade cycle.  Or so they said.

Intel and AMD also said they were a good idea. But they couldn’t adopt it, they said, because the model-year methodology would introduce an ebb and flow into their manufacturing cadence, and they needed to keep their factories humming full force for 12 months out of the year.

Good idea, the PC vendors agreed. But they couldn’t adopt it because they need to sell out their inventory, they said. And who would buy last year’s model once this year’s was out?

And they all, each of them, said: what if we have a hiccup in our schedule and our product is delayed?

Meantime, in spite of each of their objections, they’ve all been moving closer to the idea. Intel now updates its architectures annually. And Microsoft, which still can’t figure out how to roll out a PC platform on a schedule that Outlook can present, is spinning multiple Windows Phone updates a year, just like the rest of the smartphone ecosystem.

And they all still say that PC model years is a good idea. But...

It’s always ‘but.’

But...what a model-year cadence would do for the industry is that it would give them an opportunity to spruce up the platform: new processor, new OS, new aesthetics. If you don’t have a new OS, give us a cosmetic update to last year’s. That’s what the auto industry does.

Intel deftly adopted BMW’s 300/500/700 grading system for delineating good, better and best in its product line. So when consumers buy a Core i5-based PC, they know they’re getting a middle-of-the-road system.

Great. So why not also signal that they own a 2012 laptop? That way, they’ll have ever-present reminders of where their systems rank -- and also the age of their systems.

So forget the ‘but’s’ and get it together, PC ecosystem. The calendar is ticking.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

Mike Feibus is principal analyst at TechKnowledge Strategies, a Scottsdale, Ariz., market research firm focusing on client technologies. You can reach him at mike at techknowledge-group dot com.

Let me repeat that a little more verbosely. Watch for Windows Phone to grab a serious hunk of market share at the end of 2012. No doubt about it. "Huh?" you ask. Believe it.

The Feibus-is-crazy club most assuredly is enjoying a surge in membership right about now. And why not? There is certainly plenty of evidence to suggest that Windows Phone thus far has underwhelmed.

Just this past week, in fact, Nokia’s financial results confirmed what the company, Microsoft’s primary Windows Phone partner, earlier had warned: that shipments of phones built around its fading Symbian platform are now in free-fall, and its WP7-based Lumia family isn’t picking up the slack as the company had planned.

Microsoft’s earnings report, released the same day as Nokia’s, echoed much the same. Indeed, Windows Phone stood out arguably as the weakest link in what proved to be an impressively strong quarter for the software giant.

So why, then, would I predict such a rosy change in fortunes for Microsoft’s struggling smartphone platform? It’s because of what was revealed in an earnings call from another wireless player, also that same day: Verizon.

Fran Shammo, Verizon’s CFO, responding in part to a question about the high cost of subsidizing iPhones for new contracts, says that the carriers need a viable third horse in the smartphone platform derby to keep the balance of power -- and thus the prices that Apple believes it can charge the carriers for its phones -- in check. For its part, Shammo said, Verizon will throw its weight behind Windows Phone.

The last time Verizon tinkered with the balance of power between carriers and platforms, it bet on Android, introducing the Droid in late 2009 backed by $100 million marketing campaign. That fall, iOS was the second largest shipping smartphone platform in the United States with 30 percent share, and closing in on market leader Blackberry. Android’s US share, meanwhile, stood at just 5.4 percent for that quarter. (These figures courtesy of Gartner.)

Android’s share quadrupled the following quarter -- that’s Q4 09, the first full quarter of Droid shipments -- to 20.4 percent. A year later, Android enjoyed a majority of all domestic smartphone shipments (51.6 percent), while iOS share dipped to 20.1 percent.

Last April, BetaNews published a white paper I wrote predicting that the carriers soon would elevate an underdog platform like Windows Phone to hold the market leaders in check. And this past week, that’s exactly what Verizon has signaled it intends to do.

Now, don’t expect Windows Phone share to quadruple in the fourth quarter, as Android’s share did three years earlier when Verizon took up the cause:

• For one thing, the smartphone market is several times larger.
• Second, there aren’t any fading platforms today. Three years earlier, Android had RIM and Symbian to snatch sales from to pad share.
• Third, the viable competitors -- Android and iOS -- own a much larger share of the market than the competitive alternatives did when Android was trying to claw its way into relevancy.

Still, there’s little doubt that Windows Phone will snag share in the fourth quarter -- in spite of itself. Bet on it.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

Mike Feibus is principal analyst at TechKnowledge Strategies, a Scottsdale, Ariz., market research firm focusing on client technologies. You can reach him at mike at techknowledge-group dot com.

As if there isn't problem enough, with Apple giving Mac users a false sense of security. Now security software vendors do it, too. Earlier in the week, Symantec reported that the number of Flashback-infected Macs had fallen to 140,000 -- that's from as many as 700,000 by Kaspersky Lab's reckoning. But yesterday, Dr. Web put the number at 500,000, leading Symantec to acknowledge low reporting of actual infections.

The revelation -- and it most certainly is -- comes more than a week after Apple released a security update designed to remove the Flashback Trojan, which also is called Flashfake. Half-a-million compromised Macs, tied together as a botnet, is the tipping point for Apple computers. Apple and its security software partners must rally quick, to kill this beast before it bursts the fragile dike protecting the Mac user community from the tsunamis that occasionally wash across the Windows world. This the turning point, where OS X joins Windows as a platform aggressively targeted by cybercriminals.

Mr. Gates' Neighborhood

People have talked about this tipping point for years, but it never came -- creating yet another false sense of security (damn there are so many). This is the time, should the Flashback botnet flourish -- or even just persist. As I expressed last week, before Apple released the security fix: "Botnets this size are self-propogating. Cyberciminals can use a large botnet to attack and infect other computers. Can this one be taken down?" No is the worst possible answer to the question.

For years, I've heard pundits of every kind claim that cybercriminals largely attack Windows over Macs because of the large number of users. One day, should Apple PC market share increase, they argued, Macs would become targets. That thinking is a load of horse poop.

The problem started first by design. Microsoft developed Windows before the popular, public Internet and designed early networking and other features for the corporate network. The simple concept: Make sharing as easy as possible. Years ago, I referred to Windows and supporting productivity apps like Office as Mr. Gates' Neighborhood, playing off the public television kids program Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. It was a safe place, where people had no locks on their doors or windows and even connected their homes (think of that as Microsoft cross-integrating features). But then the big city -- the Internet -- grew up around the safe neighborhood. Suddenly, those lockless doors and windows and interconnected homes were a liability. Anywhere criminals could get in, they freely moved everywhere.

A decade ago, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates made security the company's number one priority. Microsoft changed the way it develops software, took an aggressive and proactive approach to security fixes and put in locks, so to speak. But securing the Windows ecosystem was a slow process -- and still is. End users didn't change their behavior right away.

Meanwhile, cybercriminals assailed Windows with great success, creating vast botnets of infected PCs to advance their activities. This is hugely important to understand. Windows isn't the larger target because there are more PCs running the operating system. Cybercriminals succeeded creating botnets early on that are persistent, and they will continue to be unless one thing changes rapidly in the Wintel market: XP.

Botnet Backbones

Windows is quite a secure operating system today. But the majority of the install base uses Windows XP, which shipped long before Gates made security Microsoft's top priority. Granted, Service Pack 2's release in 2004, did much to improve Windows XP's security architecture. But escalated user privileges, among other features, make XP considerably more vulnerable to malware attacks than Windows Vista or 7. It's explosive when mixed with careless, or simply stupid, user behavior.

Windows botnets are the backbones of cybercriminal activity. They spread spam and phishing email, mask cybercriminal's IP identities and steal personal information on massive scales. Botnets are the ground forces in a global attack against Internet users. Their persistence is devastating.

In March 2011, Microsoft and law enforcement took down the Rustock botnet, which had operated since 2006. Global spam volumes fell by 40 percent following the takedown. Even then, with the head and tail cut off the beast, Rustock's body persisted, with the botnet still about half its size, based on infected IPs, three months later.

As the market slowly moves off XP, Windows botnets are threatened. How much depends on many factors, such as user behavior and development of new attack vectors. Cybercriminals need to look somewhere else, and OS X is easy pickings (same can be said of Android and iOS) since most users don't install anti-malware and a false sense of security leads many to take unnecessary risks.

The Flashback botnet is a huge concern. If not reduced or eliminated quickly, it will spread more Mac malware and lead other cybercriminals to increase their attacks against the OS X platform. If you look at the rise of cyber attacks against Windows there is more correlation to botnets' reach than number of Wintel PC users (that's hard data I'll put together some other time -- it is Saturday!).

This is the turning point, if Flashback is unchecked. Not because Mac market share has increased or OS X is any more vulnerable to exploitation than Windows 7. It's the successful creation of a viable Mac botnet and promise of others.

Photo Credits: maraga/Shutterstock

Why is it so hard to get developers to realize the software they design is slow, bloated and does not have the "fast and fluid" experience we all would like? End users may not appreciate this about many programmers and their mindset, but many developers don't like to use old computers? They love their technology and demand leading-edge PCs.

Maybe it's time to take away their computers, and send  them to Walmart to buy new ones.

Developers and Their Computers

When a programmer starts working on his software, he or she has to deal with two problems.

The first is speed of development. If it takes 20 minutes to compile an application, before he or she can even run it, then it takes forever to write software. Programming is often a write some code, compile, test, then write some more code, compile and test process, which just goes on and on. I can understand the need to be productive, so the speed of the development cycle is critical to getting software finished in a reasonable amount of time.

The second problem is that today's software often tends to be a bit sluggish, because it is so CPU intensive. The 32-bit color displays we use, high-resolution monitors, heavy emphasis on graphics and large databases we access, put heavy loads on applications. Software has to do a lot of work, just to do the basic stuff, so everything else we add as programmers, slows it down even more.

The solution for most programmers to these problems is to buy bigger and better computers.

Simply put (please correct me if I am wrong): developers rarely are satisfied with a cheap PC. Most likely they have the leading-edge in computers. Just give them that multicore CPU, with enough RAM for three computers and a mean, gamer's graphic card and a programmer is happy and productive. But this is the solution from a programmer's point of view and there is one big problem with it.

Everybody Else buys PCs from Walmart

The people who use their software often don't buy the bleeding-edge computers (unless they do CAD and 3D games or create videos). The average end user, even in businesses today, buys from Walmart or from manufacturers like Dell -- the more mass-market lower-cost models available.

These computers have lower-end CPUs and even if the microprocessors are dual-core they are lower-end dual core. Integrated graphic GPUs is the name of the game today for mass-market computers and simply put, they just don't perform like a decent discreet graphics card does.

The Programming Paradox

Programmers develop their software on the leading-edge computers, while end users consume their software on computers with likely one-quarter the performance of the developer's computer. This is the programming paradox. Hopefully most programmers have the sense to at least test their software on a low-end computer to make sure it runs well, but this still creates a problem. When the software does not run well, it is easy for a developer to say to himself: "That's what you get for having a cheap computer", rather than take a serious look at ways to improve performance in the software.

The Solution, but You won't like It

While I say this partly in jest, part of me wants to say this in all seriousness: Why not put away your computers, go to Walmart, buy the cheapest PCs you can find and make use them for the next few months. Let's see how well they do now.

OK, be Realistic

Most programmers will likely have a good laugh at the suggestion, chuckle and then move on. But guess what? I am partly serious. Not only can I suggest this, but I live by it. I have been developing a long time now (started in the 1980s), and I design and develop all my software on mass-market PCs. I do all my work on a low-end computer, with previous versions of Windows and then do my testing of the software on newer, faster, PCs with the more current operating system.

When I tell other programmers this, they usually laugh, since most would not work this way. But I have done this for years, and it changes how you look at the software you develop. Performance becomes a key issue. Currently, I work on a Windows XP computer, with a 2.5 GHz Celeron CPU and 768MB RAM.

I then test my software on my Windows 7 (and Windows 8 beta) computers. But even the more current computers I have are not leading edge. They are in the mass-market catagory. Now I did add some 3D graphic cards to two computers recently (Windows 7, Vista Home Basic/Windows 8) so I can test some OpenGL 3D stuff I have been working on, but even there I only purchased as inexpensive a 3D card I could find. Both were in the $50 range (normal retail price), so they are very low-end graphic cards.

Why? Really! Why?

Developing software, especially if you lean towards a more agile style of development, is something where you do a lot of coding, compiling, running and testing -- and continue this over and over again. I need to know how my software will run on the average computer immediately, not after some development time and later testing on a low end computer.

I feel that if my software runs well on a low-end computer , then guess what happens when it is run on better computers by end users. Simply put, "it flies" -- "fast and fluid" or what ever you want to call it. If a programmer spends a day working on their software, with a high end computer and then only tests it at the end of the day on the low end, mass market computer, it is much more difficult to go back and find what slows things down.

The Lesson

While I honestly don't expect most programmers to work the way I do (I am realistic), there is a lesson in this, which may benefit them.

Performance in software has a great deal to do with the mindset of the programmer developing it. Can developers put themselves into the shoes of those who will use their software? Even the choices we make in how (and on what computers) we develop the software can make a big difference. Performance should not be an afterthought, but instead needs to be a mindset.

Photo Credit: trekandshoot/Shutterstock

Chris Boss is an advanced Windows API programmer and developer of 10 year-old EZGUI, which is now version 5. He owns The Computer Workshop, which opened for businesses in the late 1980s. He originally developed custom software for local businesses. Now he develops programming tools for use with the PowerBasic compiler.

This week, marketing research firm Ipsos published the latest edition of the Ipsos Reid’s Mobil-ology focusing on Canada's mobile device market. According to the data (collected for six months between August 2011 and January 2012), the Canadian mobile device market has shown continuous growth across the smartphone, tablet, and e-reader categories, putting it very close to the United States despite different brand preferences among consumers.

Here's a blow-by-blow look at how the Canadian device market differs from the United States according to Ipsos Reid's data.

Overall Smartphone penetration:

US: 48%
Canada: 34%

(U.S. data source: Nielsen, Feb. 12)

Overall Tablet penetration:

US: 19%
Canada: 10% (Jan 2012)

(U.S. data source: Pew Research, Jan. 2012)

Overall E-reader penetration:

US: 19%
Canada: 10%

(U.S. data source: Pew Research, Jan. 2012)

These figures show just how closely the U.S. and Canada are when it comes to absolute prevalence of mobile technology. However, the brand preferences are where there are major differences.

Smartphone Market Leaders:

US:

Android 50.1%,
iPhone 30.2%,
BlackBerry 13.4%

Canada:

BlackBerry 33%,
Android 31%,
iPhone 28%

(U.S. data source: comScore, April 2012)

BlackBerry’s total market penetration shrank by eight percent, while both Android and Apple penetration grew five percent respectively.

Though BlackBerry remains the smartphone of choice for Canadians, Research in Motion's market share is rapidly dropping and so is its appeal to consumers. In January 2011, 58 percent of those surveyed said they intended to purchase a BlackBerry as their next smartphone. By January 2012, that number had fallen to 40 percent. Ipsos found that Canadian customers are increasingly favoring Samsung's Android smartphones, with 32 percent saying their next smartphone would be coming from the market-leading consumer electronics company.

Tablet Market Leaders:

US: iPad 57.6%
Canada: iPad 47%

(U.S. data source: comScore, April 2012)" target="_blank">Strategy Analytics, Jan 2012.)

It should be no surprise that the iPad dominates this category. However, the market share it claimed in 2012 was down a shocking 31 percent from the previous year because of new competitors who entered the market. Ipsos cited the BlackBerry Playbook as one such competitor, but did not reveal how much market share that device actually grabbed.

E-Book/Reader Market Leaders:

US:

Kindle 70%,
Nook 27%,
Other 3%

Canada:

Kobo 46%,
Kindle 24%,
Sony eReader 18%

(U.S. data source: Publishers Weekly, Jan 2012)

This is an increasingly difficult device market to classify as each subsequent generation of e-reader turns more tablet-like, but one thing is clear. Kobo appears to be trouncing Kindle. Just one year ago, Ipsos found the Sony eReader, the Kobo, and Amazon Kindle to be virtually tied for market penetration at 28%, 27% and 25% respectively. But in 2012, Sony slipped a massive 15 percentage points while Kindle also slipped by one, and Kobo grew by 18 percent.

At the trailing end of 2011, Kobo introduced its answer to the Kindle Fire, called the Kobo Vox, an Android-powered e-reader/tablet that retails for $199. But the major boon for Kobo has been its exclusive partnership with Indigo books, Canada's largest book retailer, and the third largest book retailer in all of North America.

Flag design: Lightspring/Shutterstock

That's the sentiment expressed by a commenter to an exciting promotional video Nokia uploaded to YouTube today. The Finnish handset maker shot the promo using the new Nokia 808 PureView, which sports 41-megapixel camera. The comment: "This is true Nokia innovation. Windows Phone is just holding them back". My question: Do you agree with either or both sentiments?

I'm a big Nokia fan, who relished the benefits of great camera capabilities long before iPhone even had a crappy one. I've owned E71, N79, two different N95s, N96, N97 and N900. Nokia's N Series set the standard for mobile phone photography that most rivals have yet to catch up -- and that includes the N8 and N9, which capabilities should shame every iPhone 4/4S photographer. I clamor for Nokia 808 PureView but won't buy one. Symbian holds me back, or perhaps I should say Windows Phone. Compelling as the smartphone may be, Symbian is a dead end. Windows Phone is Nokia's primary mobile OS now.

Not in This Universe

Perhaps in an alternate universe, Nokia stuck with Symbian and set out to reinvigorate the brand with 808 Purview and smartphones like it. As truly innovative design, the handset outclasses every Windows Phone Nokia sells, including flagship Lumia 900.

808 PureView key features: 4-inch AMOLED screen (Gorilla Glass); 16GB storage, expandable to 48GB with microSD card; 41MP camera with Xenon flash and f/2.4 Carl Zeiss lens; HSPA+ (up to 14Mbps), WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100, GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900; WiFi N; Bluetooth 3; GPS; Near Field Communications; FM transmitter; 1400 mAh battery; and Symbian Belle Feature Pack 1.

Lumia 900 key features: 4.3-inch AMOLED display (Gorilla Glass); 16GB storage: 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with Carl Zeiss lens and dual-LED flash; 1MP front-facing camera; 720p video capture from rear camera and VGA from front camera; GSM 850/900/1800/1900 radio; WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100 radio; 4G LTE; Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; Stereo Bluetooth; WiFi; 1830 mAh battery; and Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" Commercial Release 2.

PureView is the brand Nokia should spend tens of millions to promote, rather than Lumia 900. But Symbian is going nowhere fast, so PureView instead puts a fitting end to Nokia's smart Symbian cameraphone heritage. Of course, PureView isn't dead. The technology, and hopefully the brand, is destined for Windows Phone one day.

808 Purview joins N9 as a truly compelling smartphone few people will buy. Why should they? There are no compelling future applications or services given Symbian's death sentence. Both phones should have anchored Nokia's brand revival. Instead, resources dedicated to the Windows Phone transition hold back the kind of marketing Nokia is renown for -- well, that is outside the United States.

Proud Legacy

Americans are cheated that way. Lumia 900 commercials are poor introduction to Nokia marketing, which is unusual for high-tech companies by emphasizing benefits over features and doing so with taste and humor. Nokia also launched many, successful viral marketing campaigns before social was in vogue -- grass-roots contests, too.

The video above is one among many shot with a Nokia smartphone. The company has long promoted its phone by shooting videos with them. A favorite marketing campaign, which looks dated in the YouTube HD era: Jealous Computers, promoting N95 in 2007. Amazingly, the marketing website is still live. Quick! Get there before Nokia CEO Stephen Elop orders it dismantled!

Nokia's N95 campaign was post-PC before anyone really talked about the concept. The handset maker positioned N95 as a computer in your pocket. In the videos, shot with the cameraphone, jealous computers attack N95 owners.

Yesterday, following Nokia's dismal first quarter earnings results -- smart device sales declined 52 percent year over year -- colleague Ed Oswald and I took opposite sides. I wrote: "Nokia does the Windows Phone death dance". Ed opined: "Nokia's short-term pain is the result of long term problems".

Windows Phone is a pleasing operating system that looks and feels different from anything else available today. Now if only Nokia hardware could do for Microsoft's OS what it did for Symbian. Soon.

Streaming music content is too restrictive, believes hacktivists Anonymous. Six members of the group have released Anontune, a web-based application that aims to aggregate streaming music online and place it in a central location. AnonTune currently accesses the catalogs of YouTube and SoundCloud, although the developers plan to add content from other services including Yahoo Music, Myspace Music, Bandcamp and others in the future.

True to the groups name, users will be able to listen to tracks anonymously, and Anonymous itself will not store the tracks. Instead it depends on the catalogs of the services it aggregates, thus leaving the sticky copyright issues to those sites. Recording Industry Association of America's Waterloo, indeed. The next one, if Napster wasn't enough a computing generation ago.

"The legal responsibility for ensuring its removal is in the hands of these services, not Anontune", the developers say in a whitepaper released this week. "Anontune will include the means to interact with multiple music networks on one platform".

Users will be able to search for music and create playlists based on what is available through Anontune's sources. While the user interface leaves a lot to be desired, and often you'll not get the music video itself but rather whatever result Anontune's "music engine" finds first, it certainly is a start.

Anontune provides an answer to a sometimes frustrating problem. One streaming service may have the track available, but another not. As it stands now you're forced to bounce from site to site to find what you need. There's no one-stop shop to search and play these videos (Google's video search comes close). These six hackers believe Anontune is the solution that will answer that need, and will in turn set streaming music free.

Make no mistake, this is not necessarily bad news for RIAA, as it may actually serve the group's interest. Anontune could pull music off of officially sanctioned channels, such as Vevo's (it already does), and exclusively stream content from these sources. There would be no grounds for RIAA's displeasure as Anonymous is distributing content that its own members have given their blessing to.

There's something to be said about Anonymous pulling in the seedier stuff as well. I cannot tell you how many times I've found a hard to find track on YouTube that is next to impossible to find through legit services. The 100 percent legal method doesn't work every time.

We couldn't get RIAA to comment on Anonymous' moves as of press time.

One final point: some may find Anonymous' use of Java to power the site a little unsettling considering the many security issues the platform has had over the years. If you're truly worried about its security, I'd recommend running Anontune on a virtual machine until someone goes over this with a fine-toothed comb.

Anonymous says this is not necessary, though. "Why the hell would we harm our users? That would really be a little counter-intuitive to our cause, correct?" it says, adding the media is crying wolf here. Call me crazy, but the "causes" have led to some improper behavior in the past. Until proven wrong, I'm still skeptical.

What do you think of Anontune? Does it have promise? Do you trust Anonymous to "set music free"? Let us know in the comments.

Data recovery used to be an incredibly expensive business, but these days you can often recover accidentally deleted data without having to bankrupt yourself in the process. And if you’re a Mac user, the good news is that you might even be able to recover irreplaceable files and folders from your hard drive for free.

Chinese software manufacturer EaseUS has just released a second freeware data recovery tool for Mac users. Hot on the heels of its free image recovery app, EaseUS Mac Photo Recovery Free comes a general purpose tool, aptly titled EaseUS Mac Undelete 5.5.1.

As the name implies, EaseUS Mac Undelete is a tool that can recover deleted files only. That means if you’re looking for data on a formatted or corrupt drive, you’ll need to look elsewhere (EaseUS would like you to upgrade to its paid-for product, Mac Data Recovery Wizard, for one).

If, however, you’ve recently deleted a file or folder, or emptied the trash, then EaseUS Mac Undelete could prove to be a lifesaver without breaking the bank. The best time to install it, of course, is now, before you lose any data as one of the golden rules of data recovery is to stop writing data to the drive you’re trying to recover from.

The app is incredibly simple to use: click Undelete, select your drive and let the program quickly scan for recoverable files. Then browse the folders for your missing file, preview the results and then tick those files or folders you wish to rescue. Click Recover, select another drive to save the files to and – hey presto – you might just have saved yourself a fortune in expensive data recovery (or divorce) fees.

EaseUS Mac Undelete 5.5.1 is a freeware download for Macs running OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later.

Photo Credit: Pavel Ignatov/Shutterstock

If computer security is your thing -- it really should be everyone's -- and you own a Mac, Kaspersky's analysis of Flashfake malware, also called Flashback, is a must-read. Gasp, this is only part one. There's more to come from the security software developer.

Flashfake's success -- Kaspersky raises the number of infected Macs to 700,000 from previous 600,000 estimates -- is bigger than the obvious conclusion Apple computers aren't safe havens from cybercriminals. Late last week, Apple released a Flashfake removal tool that contrary to earlier reports failed to substantially reduce the botnet. But as many as 100,000 infected WordPress blogs, the majority in the United States, lay in wait for unpatched Macs or even a Flashfake variant that unleashes another outbreak. Like last year's MacDefender outbreak, cybercriminals used tactics tried and proven against Windows users.

Drive-by Downloads

Before March, Flashfake bothered few Mac users because the attack vector was largely social engineering. All that changed thanks in part to current Apple security policies. Flashback exploits a Java vulnerability that Apple could have patched sooner but didn't.

Last week I praised Apple for disabling the Java plug-in with the most recent update. Now I'm not so sure, since in context of Alexander Gostev's analysis Apple really covers its ass more than protects Mac users. That's because "Apple never uses patches from Oracle and creates its own patches to close Java vulnerabilities", he explains. Oracle patched the vulnerability in February, while Apple got round to it in April. "This practice of releasing patches with delays of about two months is traditional for Apple".

Apple's Lion security page claims: "OS X has you covered...With virtually no effort on your part, OS X offers a multilayered system of defenses against viruses and other malicious applications, or malware". OS X hasn't got you covered, if Apple doesn't take readily available Java patches, waiting to produce its own instead. The adage Apple's way or the highway will get you run down.

Gostev, who heads Kaspersky's Global Research and Analysis Team, explains what happened next:

In order to spread Flashfake in March 2012, its authors made use of a cybercriminal partner program that appears to be of Russian origin. The partner program was based on script redirects from huge numbers of legitimate websites all over the world. Around the end of February/early March 2012, tens of thousands of sites powered by WordPress were compromised. How this happened is unclear. The main theories are that bloggers were using vulnerable versions of WordPress or they had installed the ToolsPack plugin. Websense put the number of affected sites at 30,000, while other companies say the figure could be as high as 100,000. Approximately 85 percent of the compromised blogs are located in the US.

Gostev continues:

Code was injected into the main pages when the blogs were hacked...As a result, when any of the compromised sites were visited, a partner program TDS was contacted. Depending on the operating system and browser version, the browser then performed a hidden redirect to sites in the rr.nu domain zone that had the appropriate set of exploits installed on them to carry out an infection.

He goes on to describe in detail the process of infection, which I encourage reading over your late-morning coffee and bagel (breakfast sandwich or cinnamon roll). But the main point is this: Drive-by download spread malicious code -- something users of older Windows versions see but is much, much less common on Vista or 7. Mac Defender, which largely spread by SEO poisoning, used similar infection tactic.

People Problems

There has been much buzz this week about there being more Mac malware or increasing vulnerabilities in OS X. That's BS. OS X and Windows 7 are both fairly hardened operating systems. Flashback's success spotlights people problems instead:

1. Apple's response is inadequate. The company doesn't patch vulnerabilities fast enough, as both Flashback and Mac Defender demonstrate. Meanwhile Apple doesn't disclose enough information to end users. To both outbreaks, Apple either failed to acknowledge a security problem existed or waited too long doing so.

2. OS X marketing creates a false sense of security among Mac users. Apple propagates the myth Macs are safe from malware with statements like "OS X has you covered" or "OS X doesn't get PC viruses". Better security is one reason many people switch to the Mac, where they're lulled into believing they're safe. Meanwhile long-time Mac users already are believers.

3. Most Mac users don't use anti-malware. That's the finding of BetaNews polls conducted in May 2011 and earlier this month. Seventy-four precent of respondents say they do not have anti-malware software installed on their primary Mac. Ninety-two percent of Windows users do. If Apple isn't adequately protecting Mac users, they need to look after themselves. They don't.

4. Half of new Mac users come from Windows. From where is the Mac install base growing? Windows users. Apple executives consistently say that half of Mac buyers are Windows users. As both malware outbreaks demonstrate, the same social engineering techniques common to Windows PCs are used. Windows users bring bad habits to the Mac, which Flashback and Mac Defender show can be exploited as easily on Apple computers as Windows PCs. Those habits are deadly for users lulled into a sense of safety and not using anti-malware.

Editors Note: After posting, Dr. Web released startling new data that shows Flashback still infects more than 500,000 Macs. That following release of Apple's tool for removing the Trojan.

Photo Credit: Julien Tromeur/Shutterstock

The typical large application will have a rather complex structure. There might be DLLs, OCXs and other executable components, data files and more, all scattered across a potentially very large number of subfolders: not necessarily very convenient.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Point Enigma Virtual Box at an application and it’s able to combine all the program’s components and data files into a single module. This is compressed, so can greatly reduce the disk space required for a program. And if you’re a software developer, then the process does a very good job of protecting your components from misuse. (The files are unpacked in RAM, never written to disc, so it becomes much more difficult for others to take your DLLs, OCXs, images, audio files and any other elements of your application.)

This is a surprisingly easy process to set up, too. As a test, we pointed Enigma Virtual Box at an ancient copy of Paint Shop Pro (the executable does some odd things so we knew that if this worked, anything should). Really all this involved was pointing the program at the Paint Shop Pro executable file, providing a folder where the combined executable would be stored, and that was it: Enigma Virtual Box took care of everything else itself.

When it was done, we launched the new “Paint Shop Pro_boxed.exe” executable (a chunky 330MB in size, rather than the 5.6MB of the original build).

And it ran and worked just fine, no problems at all. Initialization was a fraction slower than usual, understandable as the executable had to unpack its compressed components, but this wasn’t slow enough to be a particular concern. And in the main the program just worked as it always did, without any real issues.

Other packages compressed just as effectively. And if you need to get more advanced then the program does have more abilities you can call on. In particular, it’s even able to set up Registry virtualization, which in principle means you’re able to make a regular application portable by having it write only to its own local Registry copy.

Enigma Virtual Box is aimed at developers, then, and it’s easy to see why: this is a very easy way to prevent others from being able to grab or hack the components of any given application.

But the ability to turn complex applications into portable, single executables could be useful in many situations, and in reality the program could come in handy for any experienced PC user.

Photo Credit: S.john/Shutterstock

Have you ever wondered where all of the space of your multi-gigabyte, or even terabyte, drive has disappeared to? The voluminous hard drive you installed a year ago seemed like it would last you forever filled up all too quickly. While there’s nothing to stop you from manually working your way through the contents to determine what could be removed to free up space, TweakNow HD-Analyzer is a free tool that could make the decision-making a little easier.

If you are running short of space, perhaps before starting a video editing project or something else similarly space-hungry, it makes sense to home in on the files and programs that are currently occupying the most space. This is something that TweakNow HD-Analyzer can help you with, performing and in-depth analysis of your hard drive and highlighting the largest files and folders so you can easy delete them or move them to an alternate location.

Scan results are ordered so that not only are the largest files listed at the top of the information panel, but a bar chart system is used to give a visual idea of how much space is being used. That’s really all there is to the app -- it is a simple yet effective tool for tracking down the megabyte munching files that you may want to remove. In a matter of moments you can track down the largest files or discover which of the programs you have installed are occupying space you could be put to better use.

If you want to get a little more hands-on with the program, there are options that open up possibilities. You may only be interested in weeding out the largest video or audio files that you have stored on your hard drive. It is possible to specify which files types should be recognized by TweakNow HD-Analyzer so that these types of file are highlighted in the results list.

You can find out and download a copy of this free tool by paying a visit to the TweakNow HD-Analyzer review page.

Zadorozhnyi Viktor/Shutterstock

F-Secure has released an updated version of its stand-alone antivirus detector, Easy Clean.

The new build is smaller than previous releases at under 4MB. You can scan your system just by launching the executable; no installation is required. But most usefully, Easy Clean now contacts F-Secure’s cloud-based servers to obtain details about the very latest threats, so there’s no need for it to download regular updates. (Although, of course, this does also mean that you now must have a fully functional Internet connection for Easy Clean to be of any use.)

There are, of course, plenty of similar tools around that promise to offer a similar second line of antivirus defence. And you may prefer these for multiple reasons. Easy Clean only appears to do a relatively quick scan of running processes, for instance; if you’re trying to hunt down a really stubborn infection then you may prefer something which offers a more thorough and complete system scan.

Still, Easy Clean is very fast, exceptionally easy to use, and in our tests was able to complete its scans without conflicting with our installed security package. If you’re looking for a very simple stand-alone malware detector then give the program a try, it may be just what you need.

Photo Credit: Sergii Korolko/Shutterstock

Late this afternoon, after the closing bell, Microsoft revealed results for one of its most uncertain quarters in years. That's because Gartner and IDC report tepid PC shipments and Microsoft prepares to launch a horde of new products later this year, including new versions of Office, Windows and Windows Server, among others. Sometimes sales sag in the quarter or two before new product releases -- and for 2012 there are many core ones coming.

"With the upcoming release of new Windows 8 PCs and tablets, the next version of Office, and a wide array of products and services for the enterprise and consumers, we will be delivering exceptional value to all our customers in the year ahead", Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says.

Perhaps businesses share Ballmer's enthusiasm and aren't backing off purchases, particularly those looking to lock in Software Assurance upgrades. For fiscal Q3, ended March 31, Microsoft revenue was $17.41 billion, up 6 percent year over year. Operating income: $6.37 billion, a 12 percent increase. Net income was $5.11 billion, or 60 cents a share -- that's down from $5.23 billion and 61 cents a share a year earlier. However, in the year-ago quarter, Microsoft received a settlement from the IRS that boosted EPS by 5 cents. Removing this one-time event, EPS rose by 7 percent.

Average analyst consensus was $17.18 billion revenue and 58 cents earnings per share, for the quarter. Revenue estimates ranged from $16.61 billion to $17.46 billion, with estimated year-over-year growth of 4.6 percent. By both measures, Microsoft beat the Street.

Q3 2012 Revenue by Division

• Windows & Windows Live: $4.62 billion, up 4 percent from $4.45 billion a year earlier.
• Server & Tools: $4.6 billion, up 14 percent from $4.1 billion a year earlier.
• Business: $5.81 billion, up 9 percent from $5.33 billion a year earlier.
• Online Services Business: $707 million, up 6 percent from $667 million a year earlier.
• Entertainment & Devices: $1.6 billion, down 16 percent from $1.94 billion a year earlier.

Q3 2012 Income by Division

• Windows & Windows Live: $2.95 billion, up 6 percent from $2.8 billion a year earlier.
• Server & Tools: $1.74 billion, up 29 percent from $1.35 billion a year earlier.
• Business: $3.77 billion, up 14 percent from $3.31 billion a year earlier.
• Online Services Business: Loss of $479 million, up 38 percent from $776 million loss a year earlier.
• Entertainment & Devices: $229 million loss compared to 210 million profit a year earlier.

Whither Windows

Laggard PC shipments weighed on Microsoft, which isn't surprising given the continued distraction smartphones and tablets cause consumers -- and that includes those bringing personal devices to work. Still, Windows and Windows Live division revenue grew 4 percent year over year and income by 6 percent (after falling 6 percent and 11 percent, respectively, in fiscal Q2).

IDC puts first calendar quarter year-over-year PC shipment growth at 2.3 percent, but only 1.9 percent by Gartner's estimates.

"The consumer segment continued to be a drag on market growth, as PC demand was low", Mikako Kitagawa, Gartner principal analyst, says. The analyst firm again highlights smartphones and tablets as leaders among those "other devices".

"Slow growth in the US shows that despite interesting and new form factors like all-in-one (AIO) desktop PCs and Ultrabook-class notebook PCs, the market remains conservative and focused on replacements", Loren Loverde, IDC vice president, says. Replacements don't just refer to necessary PC upgrades but tablets being used to supplement existing PCs. The devices replace behavior rather than the older computer.

Still, both analysts expressed optimism for the holidays. "We expect PC shipments to pick up significantly by the fourth quarter and beyond as HDD supply and pricing are normalized, Windows 8 is launched, and replacements pick up", Loverde says. But "the US PC market is likely to remain constrained at least until the launch of Windows 8, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2012".

The future looks interesting, as Microsoft prepares its increasingly aggressive response to iPad. Yesterday, the company disclosed Windows 8 Enterprise feature and licensing benefits -- and nearly all relate to mobility or mobile devices. They also tip how much emphasis Microsoft will place on Windows RT, which runs on ARM processors and is queued for tablets.

Two Software Assurance benefits stand out: Extended Virtual Desktop rights for Windows RT devices and extended rights for companion devices.

"So that means that WinRT devices, when used by someone with a PC covered by SA, are automatically given the same virtualization rights as the PC itself, notably the right to access a remote instance of Windows running in a VM (a VDI scenario)", Paul DeGroot, president of Pica Communications, tells me today.

"If you have something other than a WinRT device you have to pay more", he continues. "As with the WinRT device, you need SA on the PC; but after that you still need to purchase a Companion Device License for Windows SA. However, this license will cover up to four devices, like your iPhone, iPad, and home PC or Mac.

DeGroot emphasizes: "Overall, I'd rate this as an improvement over the old SA Roaming Rights, which were useless to most people, but this is a case where MS is clearly giving WinRT an advantage over the competition".

Division Highlights

Microsoft reports revenue and earnings results for five divisons: Windows & Windows Live, Server & Tools, Business, Online Services and Entertainment & Devices.

Windows & Windows Live. Strong demand among businesses helped the division to overcome the effects of weaker than-expected PC demand. Revenue rose by 4 percent year over year, and operating income by 6 percent.

Microsoft estimates that global PC sales to businesses grew 8 percent, but were flat among consumers. However, when removing continued, steep netbook sales declines, consumer PCs actually rose 6 percent. Together, Microsoft estimates that PC sales grew by 2 percent and 4 percent, which is stronger than either Gartner or IDC estimates.

More granularly, like other recent quarters, OEMs accounted for 75 percent of Windows sales. Despite the increase in sales to businesses, the mix was only 33 percent to them but 41 percent to consumers. OEM revenue grew by 4 percent.

Looking ahead to fiscal fourth quarter, Microsoft is cautious about negative market dynamics, but expects business PC sales to continue growing.

The company estimates that Windows 7 is deployed on 40 percent of enterprise desktops.

Server & Tools. Revenue rose 14 percent year over year and operating income by 29 percent, delivering a simply stunning quarter. The division is insulated against economic maladies, because about 50 percent of revenues come from contractual volume-licensing agreements.

"Product revenue increased $396 million or 12%, driven primarily by growth in SQL Server, Windows Server, and System Center, reflecting continued adoption of Windows platform applications.", according to the company's 10-Q filing.

Looking ahead to fiscal Q4, Microsoft expects volume-license sales to grow in the high teens.

Business. The division was the quarter's big overall performer (again); revenue rose 9 percent and income by 14 percent year over year.

Annuity licensing continued to lift sales, an ongoing trend. "MBD revenue increased primarily reflecting sales of the 2010 Microsoft Office system. Business revenue increased $469 million or 11 percent, primarily reflecting growth in multi-year volume licensing revenue, licensing of the 2010 Microsoft Office system to transactional business customers, and an 11 percent increase in Microsoft Dynamics revenue. Consumer revenue increased $16 million or 2 percent due mainly to increased sales of the 2010 Microsoft Office system", according to the company.

More numbers: Multi-year license revenue grew by 13 percent, Dynamics CRM by 30 percent and Lync by 35 percent.

Like Server & Tools, Business division is largely insulated against sluggish PC sales. Sixty percent of revenue comes from annuity licensing to businesses.

Looking ahead to fiscal fourth quarter, Microsoft expects double-digit volume-license growth.

Online Services Business. Online services revenue rose by 6 percent, while the operating loss decreased by 38 percent. Search and display ads drove up online advertising revenue by 9 percent -- $51 million to $639 million. "OSD operating loss decreased due to higher revenue and lower cost of revenue and sales and marketing expenses.", according to the 10-Q.

Looking ahead to fiscal Q4, Microsoft expects continued improvements.

Entertainment & Devices.  Revenue fell by 16 percent. Microsoft shipped 1.4 million Xboxes during the quarter -- a 1.3 million-unit decline from a year earlier. Xbox revenue fell 33 percent, or $584 million.

There were -- get this -- 100 billion minutes of Skype calls -- up 40 percent year over year.

Looking ahead to fiscal Q4, Microsoft expects double-digit revenue growth.

Photo Credit: Microsoft

Aiming to become the Dropbox of the enterprise, New York City-based AppSense has introduced DataNow, a cloud-based service aimed at giving companies a method to securely share documents across multiple platforms. The company says that its solution lessens the risk of the loss of sensitive information.

File sharing services like Dropbox have already been in the news for just that. Like Facebook and Draw Something, Dropbox has been found to store access tokens in plain text. Last June, a flaw in the software allowed anybody to log in to any account with any password. In the corporate world, such a breach is possibly devastating.

AppSense looks at corporate file sharing in the cloud differently. Unlike the more consumer-centric services, DataNow stores the data in a private cloud within the enterprise's own IT environment using a virtual appliance created to enable the flow of data.

This prevents sensitive files from being stored in a potentially insecure environment, and dramatically reduces the chances of a breach. It also gives the enterprise greater control over what their users can share, and how they share it.

"IT Managers have deep investments in their existing storage systems in terms of architecture, capacity, and security", says chief technology officer Harry Lebana. "It makes sense to leverage these investments first to empower users now, and introduce cloud-based storage systems as they mature and meet corporate IT requirements".

Users share files to their mobile devices by dragging files to the DataNow application, which is available for both Windows and Mac OS. These files are then accessible from authorized mobile devices on either the iOS or Android platforms, as well as any additional desktop platforms the user may have. IT administrators have the capability to develop specific policy controls for data usage, including the capability to restrict local caching or the power to remote wipe in the event of data loss.

Enterprise file-sharing has become hot, but most employ a similar strategy to Dropbox. AppSense competitor Vaultize on Thursday introduced its own file-sharing solution, which encrypts data both at the source and in the cloud to protect it from theft, however the standard offering uses RackSpace hosting. Options are available for private or hybrid deployments, although it is not standard.

AppSense is currently accepting beta applications to test the DataNow product. IT environments will need virtualization capability in order to run DataNow's Intelligent Data Broker and an accessible Microsoft Active Directory domain controller.

The company did not give details on final availability of the product nor its price. A call to AppSense for comment was outstanding as of press time.

Photo Credit: Yabresse/Shutterstock

Popular music streaming service Spotify has rolled out a beta of its first Android app optimized for devices running Ice Cream Sandwich.

The most current version of the app, available in Google Play, was built for Android Gingerbread, and no version was released for Honeycomb. Google Play says the Gingerbread version is compatible with Ice Cream Sandwich devices, but this is not strictly true, and installing the Gingerbread version didn't guarantee local playback or playlisting, so this beta is a ramp-up to a significant release for Spotify.

That being said, this beta is not yet available in Google Play and must be downloaded directly from Spotify. They're looking for your feedback, so you know what to do.

This version has a completely revised user interface that follows the ICS design ethic, with a navigation button in the upper left hand corner that opens the menu of different views. Navigation speed has been significantly tweaked and poking around the app is swift and responsive. An impressive display of how quickly Spotify responds can be seen if you happen to be playing a track on your desktop app, and you click play on your smartphone app. The desktop's playback is instantly paused when the music starts on your phone, which is also instant.

The ability to browse "related artists" and other user profiles and playlists has been added, both of which were previously missing. A few more features have not yet been added, but are supposed to be on the way before the app launches in Google Play, including folders and Last.fm scrobbling.

Point. It's always fun to point the blame at someone, and everyone loves to blame CEO Stephen Elop for Nokia's woes. As the Finnish phone manufacturer began to burn, Elop came aboard and made a deal with his former employer, Microsoft, to adopt the Windows Phone platform. Pundits thought he was insane, and have criticized him repeatedly for the move.

These criticisms grow louder as Nokia reports a $1.3 billion euro ($1.76 billion) loss in the first quarter of 2012. According to the financial statements, the company burned through 700 million euros in cash during the same quarter, and has a little under five billion euros in cash left. The company may face bankruptcy in two years.

What's to blame? Poor phone sales. Device revenues plummeted 29 percent year-over-year. Smartphone revenues were cut in half, while sales in feature phones fell a third. The launch of the Lumia 900 was just two weeks ago, so it's still too early to judge if that device was able to stop the bleeding.

Cue The Windows Phone Haters

But there's one thing that I'd like to stress here: criticizing Elop once again over Windows Phone after these results is foolish: one Nokia Windows Phone existed in the first quarter of this year. How can we call this a success or failure yet?

Elop can do nothing to change Nokia's position in the market. From the top, it gets pressure on smartphones through Apple's iPhone and a host of upper-end Android manufacturers. On the low end, budget featurephone makers like ZTE eat its lunch. Since Nokia has hands in both pots, growth on either end gives the company little wiggle room.

To break out, Nokia had to do something drastic. Releasing an Android device wouldn't make much sense: Nokia's devices would be competing with established players like Motorola and Samsung. Renewing focus on the low end was equally unwise: while the market remains large, it is contracting as more consumers choose to move up to smartphones.

What was left? Windows Phone. The adoption of the platform (and a partnership with Microsoft) gives Nokia two advantages. First, it cements position early as a leader on the platform. Second, it enables Nokia to produce stand-out devices and rebuild reputation.

I'm Not Dead Yet

The strategy paid off: the Lumia 900 is Windows Phone's top selling device to date, and has received generally positive reviews. Nokia placed itself back in the forefront by making a gamble. There was no path forward for the company without some short-term pain.

Doing nothing is no answer. Featurephones are a dying breed, and would result in a slower but inevitable death. Sticking around with Symbian is equally foolish: third-party support for the platform is dwindling, and development requirements sucked away precious resources that Nokia increasingly does not have.

Can and should Nokia eventually adopt Android? Of course, and such a move is wise as few manufacturers depend on a single platform. But first, Nokia needs to reestablish its brand, and Windows Phone is helping to do just that.

That said, Nokia must solidify its position in the featurephone market once again. Yes, I did say the market is dying earlier, but the high-volume nature will at least generate revenue for Nokia in the short term as it restructures its smartphone strategy. Elop says this is a focus during the current quarter, and I tend to believe him.

As CEO, Stephen Elop does shoulder the blame for the failures of his company. Windows Phone however is not the reason, and doesn't belong in the discussion at this point. Talk to me next quarter when Windows Phone plays a part in the bottom line -- maybe then I'll be willing to admit Nokia + Windows Phone was a failure.

Right now, the jury's still out on that one.

Editor's Note: Ed Oswald and Joe Wilcox wrote opposing positions about Nokia's Windows Phone strategy, independently today (we didn't want one directly responding to the other but to circumstances). Please read Joe's "Nokia does the Windows Phone death dance".

Few high-tech companies have imploded like Nokia and at the strangest time. Typically, dominant companies get killed during transitions from where they rule to where they don't. Nokia is oddest exception, imploding during a major computing era shift that favors its core competency. Transition from the PC to the mobile device eras is underway -- to a market where Nokia was, until recently, share leader by huge margins. How low the mighty has fallen, and former Microsoft division president turned Nokia CEO Stephen Elop wields the missile codes that launched self-inflicted nuclear strikes.

Today's Nokia earnings report is a disaster. It's radioactive fallout from Elop's decision to turn over the Finnish company's crown jewels to Microsoft. Elop sold Nokia's soul to his former masters, which I described at the time as a "silent takeover" of the company. Nokia needed new leadership, not new technology -- Elop's fundamental platform and cloud services switch -- to combat escalating Android and iOS competition. Before his tenure, Nokia did the right things, just in the wrong ways. Since taking the chief executive's seat in Autumn 2010, Elop has done the wrong things in all the right ways to destroy a once proud mobile device innovator.

Elop's Nuclear Nightmare

Companies are successful for many reasons. Leadership is among the most important. Good leaders inspire their underlings. They instill confidence among the loyal troops and raise their morale. Instead Elop disgraced all Nokia employees by showing absolutely no faith in them or the hugely successful mobile business their work produced. When justifying the Windows Phone switch, he called Symbian a "burning platform".

In a long memo, Elop wrote: "I have learned that we are standing on a burning platform...We poured gasoline on our own burning platform...Nokia, our platform is burning". In business, perception is everything. Yet Elop contributed to the perception that the global leader in handsets and mobile operating systems was a failure. He fed the fire of hype burning behind Android and iPhone. If anyone lit Nokia's platform afire, it was Elop and his negative memo that spread more FUD -- fear, uncertainty and doubt -- about Nokia's future than any competitor ever could. Elop isn't the harbinger of positive change but negative perceptions.

Then he chucked away the most successful mobile operating system on the planet -- with install base that dwarfed Android and iOS. The only thing burning about Symbian and planned successor Meego was the fire Elop set. He burned down the house -- no, he nuked the city -- in order to build anew.

The extent of devastation is nowhere more apparent than Q1, the first full quarter of results after Nokia shipped the first handsets running Windows Phone. Smartphone sales boom everywhere else, globally rising 58 percent in 2011 to 472 million units, accounting for 31 percent of all handset sales, according to Gartner. There is huge market transition underway that rivals capitalize on. Look at Apple's 35.5 million iPhones sold in fourth quarter, by Gartner's reckoning.

Lumia 'Sales Have Been Mixed'

Today, Nokia revealed that Q1 sales plummeted by 29 percent, leading to a $1.76 billion loss. Sales fell 26 percent quarter-on-quarter, too. Device and services net sales plummet by a stunning 40 percent year over year and 29 percent sequentially. Other year-over year declines: smart devices, 52 percent; mobile phones, 32 percent.

Nokia's Windows Phone transition is a major part of the problem, lessening demand for Symbian smartphones. First quarter global sales aren't available from analysts yet, but, according to Gartner, Symbian smartphone share fell to 11.7 percent from 32.3 percent in Q4 2011. The company that invented the smartphone, dropped from first to third place, behind Android and iOS, respectively.

Today, Elop says the hard thing -- and he deserves credit for it: "Actual sales results have been mixed", referring to Lumia Windows Phones. That's a polite way of saying they suck. During fourth quarter, Microsoft mobile OS share fell from 3.4 percent to 1.9 percent, according to Gartner. First quarter numbers aren't available, but as the IDC chart above shows it's a trend.

In February 2011 I warned: "Nokia will lose customers and market share. It's the inevitable consequence of such a massive operating system switch. Timing is terrible". That's not a rocket science conclusion. Android and iOS device sales soared and higher still later in 2011. Again mixing metaphors, it's like Elop called his race car to the pits during the Indianapolis 500 to change engines.

Now he's desperate. "We have a clear sense of urgency to move our strategy forward even faster". Elop says -- and he should. But where was that urgency in early 2011, when he turned over platform development responsibility to Microsoft?

Burning Down the Brand

Nokia had much to build on before Elop nuked it. For starters the brand. Wireless analyst Tomi explains: "More people use a Nokia phone than drink a Coca Cola, than wear Levis's jeans, than tell time on a Timex watch, than wear Nike running shoes, than smoke Marlboro cigarettes, or write with a Bic pen". While Nokia's brand may not seem much to Americans, it's huge everywhere else, particularly Asia, Europe and Africa.

"What was life like before Stephen Elop started to destroy the brand most widely spread on the planet?" Ahonen asks. Much better is the answer. While Nokia bled share before, the Windows Phone transition and Elop's performance opened an artery.

Unquestionably, Nokia had problems before Elop joined the company. Smartphones like N97 couldn't compete with iPhone, cloud services proved to be clunky and developers fled for Android Market (now Google Play) and Apple's App Store. But these were fixable problems with leadership and even a few cloud and software acquisitions. Instead, Elop nuked this city in lieu of urban renewal.

Nokia 808 PureView, announced in late February is sure sign of what the company could have done with Symbian. The truly innovative smartphone sports a 41-megapixel camera but not Windows Phone. So much good that was Nokia is now lost.

I'm a big Nokia phone fan -- have been for years. I would be ecstatic to be proved wrong, to a year hence write a mea culpa story. But looking at how much worse off Nokia is today than 14 months ago, when Elop cut the Microsoft deal, the big Windows Phone turnaround is more Harry Potter magic than Albert Einstein Relativity.

Editor's Note: Ed Oswald and Joe Wilcox wrote opposing positions about Nokia's Windows Phone strategy, independently today (we didn't want one directly responding to the other but to circumstances). Please read Ed's "Nokia's short-term pain is the result of long term problems".

Photo Credit: andrea crisante/Shutterstock

Something that irritates many iOS users, and drives a large number of them to go as far as jailbreaking their phones and tablets, is the fact that Apple is so strict about what apps are able to do. The guidelines for getting into the App Store mean that it is not possible for any app to replicate an existing feature of iOS, nor access system settings in any way that Apple deems inappropriate. Despite this, Bluetooth OnOff has found its way in to the App Store, providing easy access to Bluetooth settings.

Due to battery draining, it is not a good idea to leave Bluetooth enabled when it is not being used. With this in mind, it is strange to find that in order to switch Bluetooth off, Apple makes users jump through a series of hoops in a process that takes several taps. Bluetooth OnOff is a simple little utility that reduces this to a one or two tap process so if you need to enable Bluetooth for a quick gaming session, you can do so in around a second.

Bluetooth OnOff can be used in one of two ways. The first option is to launch the app and then manually select the option to enable or disable Bluetooth, but by adjusting app settings you’ll find that there is a better option available. The app can be set up so that Bluetooth is switched on or off as soon as the app is launched, reducing the amount of time it takes to switch settings even further.

The app features a built in chatting option, but in all likelihood this is just a façade to help get a hady utility through to the store. If you’ve been frustrated by Apple’s restrictions but don’t fancy the idea of jailbreaking your iOS device, this may just be what you have been waiting for -- and at this low price you have very little to lose in testing it out for yourself.

You can find out more about the app by paying a visit to the Bluetooth OnOff review page.

PC maintenance specialist IObit has released the first public beta of Advanced SystemCare with Antivirus 2012. Which, as you’ll guess from the name, not only now caters to all your PC maintenance needs, but also includes a full antivirus package as well.

The beta takes a dual-engine approach to protecting your PC, using both IObit and BitDefender technology to detect and block threats. And essentially it provides all the features you’d expect from a basic antivirus package. So you can run quick, full or custom scans; a simple scheduler allows you to configure scans to run automatically; and conveniences like a Silent Mode reduce unnecessary alerts when you’re playing games or other full-screen applications.

The inclusion of a full antivirus module in Advanced SystemCare seems like a natural progression for the package, but it does also introduce some potential problems, in particular the possibility of conflicts with other security tools that you might have running. These are generally detected during installation, when you’re given the possibility to run the program in “Compatibility Mode”, which essentially turns off real-time protection to reduce the chance of issues. But, of course, if you’re not going to use the program’s new real-time antivirus protection then there’s probably not much point installing it in the first place.

Still, Advanced SystemCare does have plenty of other features on offer. As with previous releases, the program can automatically clean the Registry, delete your Windows and application tracks, clean junk files and more; and there are stacks of tools to clean away unnecessary junk, optimize your system performance, repair problems, detect and fix security issues and more. Despite the “beta” tag everything seems very stable, so if you’re interested in the package then download your copy of Advanced SystemCare with Antivirus 2012 beta now.

German software developer Ashampoo has released Ashampoo Photo Commander 10, a major new build of its photo management and editing tool for Windows. Version 10 introduces a number of new tools, features as well as performance improvements.

Ashampoo Photo Commander 10 adds two new photo tools, Repair Pen and Focus Effect Tool, alongside an Effect preview browser, plus adds support for directly uploading photos to three popular social networks.

The new photo tools are added to Ashampoo’s existing “quick-fix” selection. Repair Pen is designed for retouching facial impurities, while the new Focus Effect tool reduces the depth of field to allow professional portrait effects such as defocussing the background to be achieved within the program with existing images.

Ashampoo Photo Commander 10 also introduces new gradation curve and histogram tools for correcting lighting problems -- the newly integrated histogram tool makes it easy to see critical data such as exposure time, focus and white balance.

The social networking tools work with YouTube, Facebook and Picasa, and allow users to add photos to existing albums as well as creating new ones from scratch. Uploaded files can be resized and all metadata stripped for privacy purposes if necessary.

A new Effect preview browser makes it easy to see how different effects will alter the currently selected photo, while version 10 also adds support for the new Google WebP image format as well as color profiles in JPEG files. It also claims improved support for importing RAW formats from digital cameras.

Despite these new features, Ashampoo claims Photo Commander 10 promises better performance and faster loading times thanks to more efficient memory usage, plus wraps everything up in a streamlined user interface with more intuitive navigation thanks to fewer symbols cluttering up the menu navigation structure.

Ashampoo Photo Commander 10 is available now as a free trial download for PCs running Windows XP or later. The full version retails for $49.99.

Photo Credit: Laborant/Shutterstock

Microsoft pours out the Windows 8 news this week, ahead of fiscal 2012 third quarter earnings results. Yesterday, the company revealed the new SKUs and Windows Server 2012 naming. Today comes more information on the most distinct edition -- Windows 8 Enterprise. I debated all day what to write about the software, feeling that there's more marketing speak than substantive information in the blog post announcement. The devil is in the details as they say, and never more than Windows Enterprise and so-called Software Assurance benefits coming with it.

That's because Enterprise is a slippery slope for large businesses to climb. Most enterprises acquire Windows on new PCs -- OEMs account for 75 percent of sales -- but from there Microsoft licensing rules get sticky. Businesses can reimage PCs based on whatever license rights they have. Those wanting to deploy Windows Enterprise must take on something else: Software Assurance is required and adds considerable upfront cost: 29 percent of the full price for two or three years, paid annually. The real benefits -- that carrot -- are all about licensing, for those businesses willing to be beat by the stick (Software Assurance).

Assessing Software Assurance

Eleven months ago, Pica Communications president Paul DeGroot wrote an 8-part Microsoft licensing series for BetaNews. Microsoft has tweaked licensing over the past year, largely to support the cloud and Windows 8 Enterprise Software Assurance reflects some of the tweaking. Largely, what DeGroot laid out in May 2011 still holds true. That 29 percent works out to 13 percent savings over a three-year annuity contract. He explains:

At 29 percent a year on desktop products like Windows and Office, if you hold out for four years or more, the non-SA customer will pay 'only' 100 percent for the upgrade license, while the SA customer will pay 116 percent. In effect, the Software Assurance customer is paying a 16 percent premium to get a 13 percent discount. In fact, since larger business customers pay for Software Assurance three years at a time, they pay 87 percent for the first three years, and if they renew SA without getting an upgrade, another 87 percent for the next three years. That adds up to 174 percent, or a 74 percent premium to get a 13 percent discount.

Most enterprises upgrade less frequently than three or even four years, based on multiple analyst studies and an easily observable situation: More than 10 years after its release -- with Vista and 7 in between, XP is still the most widely deployed Windows. As an upgrade plan, for the majority of large businesses buying Windows, Software Assurance is no benefit at all from cost-savings perspective.

However, one benefit is commonly used -- and it's one Microsoft likes to keep secret: Many large businesses use annuity contracts to exercise downgrade rights, so they can maintain compatability across the organization. So they buy new PCs with, say, Windows 7 and reimage with XP.

But there are other benefits that Microsoft touts, and few have done much to increase Enterprise Edition adoption. When Windows 7 launched nearly three years ago, OEMs accounted for 80 percent of sales. Since, with Microsoft all but forcing enterprises to take Software Assurance, there has been 5 percent shift. I have argued since Vista's release more than 5 five years ago that the Software Assurance requirement discourages enterprises from deploying newer Windows versions.

Microsoft won't change, because it wants for Windows what it has with Office: The majority of sales are tied to lucrative annuity contracts, not uncertain PC sales.

Enterprise Edition Benefits

Microsoft's Software Assurance stick is hard. What about the carrot? In today's blog post, Erwin Visser breaks down the benefits by features and licensing terms -- but they're really all about licensing. Microsoft makes a choice to license certain features in one Windows 8 edition or another. There is no technical reason, as there might be for hardware, for any distinction. About features, he explains:

• Windows To Go is a fully manageable corporate Windows 8 desktop on a bootable external USB stick. This will allow IT organizations to support the “Bring Your Own PC” trend and businesses can give contingent staff access to the corporate environment without compromising security.
• DirectAccess allows remote users to seamlessly access resources inside a corporate network without having to launch a separate VPN and helps IT administrators keep remote users’ PCs in compliance by applying the latest policies, software updates, is easier to deploy, and it can be implemented with the existing IPv4 infrastructure.
• BranchCache allows users’ PCs to cache files, websites, and other content from central servers, so content is not repeatedly downloaded across the wide area network (WAN). When used with Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 brings several improvements to BranchCache to streamline the deployment process, optimize bandwidth over WAN connections and ensure better security and scalabilty.
• AppLocker can help mitigate issues by restricting the files and apps that users or groups are allowed to run.
• VDI enhancements: Enhancements in Microsoft RemoteFX and Windows Server 2012, provide users with a rich desktop experience with the ability to play 3D graphics, use USB peripherals and use touch-enabled devices across any type of network (LAN or WAN) for VDI scenarios.
• New Windows 8 App Deployment: Domain joined PCs and tablets running Windows 8 Enterprise will automatically be enabled to side-load internal, Windows 8 Metro style apps.

Regarding benefits directly related to Software Assurance:

• Windows To Go Use Rights: Windows To Go will allow companies to support Bring Your Own PC scenarios and will give employees who need to work from home more secure access to their full corporate environment. With Windows To Go use rights under Software Assurance, an employee will be able to use Windows To Go on any company PC licensed with Windows SA as well as from their home PC. Additionally, through a new companion device license for SA, employees will be able to use WTG on their personal devices at work.
• Windows RT Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) Rights: When used as a companion of a Windows Software Assurance licensed PC, Windows RT will automatically receive extended VDA rights. These rights will provide access to a full VDI image running in the datacenter which will make Windows RT a great complementary tablet option for business customers.
• Companion Device License: For customers who want to provide full flexibility for how employees access their corporate desktop across devices, we are introducing a new Companion Device License for Windows SA customers. For users of Windows Software Assurance licensed PCs this optional add-on will provide rights to access a corporate desktop either through VDI or Windows To Go on up to four personally owned devices.

In looking over both lists, I make an immediate observation: The major benefits are all about enabling businesses to better handle different device types. Stated differently: Windows 8 Enterprise is Microsoft's solution to businesses' consumerization of IT problem -- if you can really call it a problem.

Analysts Weigh In

When Microsoft introduced Software Assurance in May 2001, it positioned the annuity license plan for upgrades. But over time, businesses consistently used SA to exercise the aforementioned downgrade rights, while many others chose to pay full price since they wouldn't upgrade any sooner than four years. Microsoft responded by adding so-called benefits, such as home use rights, to tempt more enterprises to Software Assurance. The real question about Windows 8 Enterprise: Are the select features and new SA benefits enough for the bulk of businesses?

"The transition is going to be pretty slow for enterprise", Roger Kay, Endpoint Technologies president told me today. "It always is, and it seems like the pace of OS turnover is slowing as the incremental increase in value of each transition declines (oddly, because the last one was so good)".

In looking at new features, "there is some new value here", Kay says, "but is it enough to stimulate a large-scale transition? The Win7 transition is still under way. So, I'd say first tentative experiments in 2012 and 2013, more adoption in 2014, and flood tide in 2015". Oh? If Microsoft keeps to releasing a new Windows every three years, the tide would like, Windows 8 this year, flood the new version.

DeGroot is a bit more optimistic, but not exactly glowing. He told me today:

Windows RT VDA rights and the Companion device licenses could be very important. While I still think Microsoft's VDI licensing stinks, and this doesn't change it a lot, these new rights are vastly superior to the current SA Roaming Right for Windows, which are ridiculously restrictive. The SA Roaming Right only gives you the right to use third-party devices over other people's networks.

My short description of this is that it gives you the right to access corporate resources only over insecure networks from untrusted devices. These two benefits, in contrast get it right: SA on Win 8 will give customers the added flexibility that they should have been getting all along when they bought SA.

Earlier today, Microsoft refreshed Intune. Licensing changes related to Windows 8 Enterprise are promising.

"The accompanying Windows Intune blot/release says you'll be able to manage up to four addtional devices, and it will cover iPads, Android, etc, at the same $11 a month price", DeGroot explains. "I have always thought Intune was seriously overpriced, but this really can deliver value, and it's much better for mobile devices than using conventional management tools".

That circles back to the actual features and extent of their appeal.

"They've got some new stuff here: AppLocker, probably the VDI stuff (although it would be nice to get a closer look), the sideloading of Metro apps", Kay says. "I imagine Windows To Go and DirectAccess, taken together, make a pretty nice offering".

DeGroot sees Microsoft making an important concession to all businesses that actually diminishes Windows 8 Enterprise's appeal. "The two most important enterprise pieces, BitLocker and the MUI, are in Win 8 Pro and don't require SA anymore. I'm happy to see those changes, but they also reduce the value of SA somewhat", he says.

"The other stuff, like App Locker, DirectAccess, BranchCache, are features that some folks appreciate, but they're not going to drive many people to Enterprise", he adds. "Microsoft is always evolving RDP, and I'll give them credit for an excellent job there, so I'm not sure what additional VDI enhancements SA provides".

Consider all this an introduction to posing the question to you and your IT organization: Is Microsoft promising enough for you to seriously consider adopting Windows 8 Enterprise, particularly if you don't have Software Assurance coverage today?

Photo Credit: mikeledray/Shutterstock

IT administration can be a daunting task, and require hours of additional work to ensure a deployment is operating properly and at peak efficiency. Oftentimes, administrators are faced with overly complex administration software that takes months or even years to figure out.

Worse yet, this software is "built in the bubble"; that is, developers create the platform based on what they think the administrator needs rather than what he or she wants. This results in software that does not mold to the needs of its users, and further adds to its complexity.

That's where Austin, Texas-based Solarwinds comes in to the picture. Founded in 1999, the software maker serves about 93,000 customers from small business up through Fortune 500 companies. Solarwinds' focus is what it calls "user-centric software", and the company has built its suite of products around this premise.

Making IT Work for You

"We believe that the IT pros who use our products everyday should be excited about them", the company says. "That's why we put our users first in everything we do, and strive to deliver powerful functionality while making their jobs easier". This should be music to an IT administrator's ears, given the state of most of the software out there today.

Solarwinds prides itself in building flexible software to meet the diverse needs of IT, while keeping in close touch with professionals to ensure the software is meeting the needs of the administrator. Since Solarwinds' products are built by administrators themselves, better software is the result.

A better equipped IT department means a more efficient enterprise, especially these days where a company's use of technology is a major key to success. "IT departments looking to stay competitive should ask themselves what direction their company is heading, identify the goals and determine IT's strategic role", Solarwinds senior product management director Jonathan Reeve says. "The good news is that IT departments already have the upper-hand in understanding the unique requirements of the businesses they support".

How can this company help you maintain a competitive edge? Below, we take a look at three of Solarwinds' most compelling products.

Staying Fast and Nimble

The larger the deployment, the more difficult it is to make sure everything runs in tip-top shape. Having the capability to measure performance of both the applications you run and the servers that power them is the first step in trouble-free IT administration.

Solarwinds' Server & Application Monitor does that, offering reporting and alerting to issues in your environment. The setup automatically detects active servers and applications in your deployment, monitors for issues with Microsoft's Exchange and Active Directory and performance issues with Java applications, for example. Compatibility with Dell, HP, and IBM System X servers allows for extensive reporting and diagnosis of problems on the server side.

Solarwinds' expertise also shines in that Server & Application Monitor includes built-in suggestions on optimal performance for popular apps and servers to assist in diagnosis and remedying of detected issues. The company also includes a "knowledge base" including broader tips on how to run efficient IT environments to further optimize your deployment.

Server & Application Monitor licensing begins at $2,495, with a 30-day free trial available.

Tackle Issues Before They're Problems

There’s always room for trouble in any IT environment, thus an established system in place to warn of potentially serious issues is vital. Such a system should be able to warn you of negative events and be able to isolate the issue quickly with ample time to react.

Log & Event Manager is Solarwinds' answer to this issue, and will provide that key line of first defense. Say a running service in your environment begins to malfunction. Log & Event Manager's console warns of this, and presents the administrator with options to mitigate the issue, such as restarting the service.

Active Response & Threat Mitigation is a key feature of this product. Quick action is key in today's world where an administrator can be dealing with any number of security threats. Log & Event Manager automatically quarantines infected machines and IP address without user interaction, preventing significant security issues well before they become serious problems.

Solarwinds offers a 30-day free trial of Log & Event Manager, as well as offering licenses starting at $4,495.

Don't Get Caught in Patch Hell

Making sure apps and tools across your environment are up-to-date can be a serious undertaking. But not keeping on top of it is equally serious; any unpatched issue in apps in use by your users could be opening the network up to potential security risks. Developing a solid updating strategy is a vital step in ensuring network health.

So what should you look for in a service to help you stay on top of such an important facet of IT administration? Your selected solution should have the following features: the ability to deploy patches automatically and dynamically, which allows for minimal disruption in your IT deployment; the ability to scan the entire network to locate unauthorized and unpatched machines; and the capability to ensure the patch was installed right the first time.

Solarwinds' Patch Manager includes these features. This service catalogs third-party patches from a host of vendors including Adobe, Apple, Google, Mozilla, and Sun. It also pre-tests these patches, which ensures a problem-free installation when you are ready to apply them.

Patch Manager automates the process of patching and allows for the control of its rollout. This is a good thing, as applying a patch everywhere at once can be disastrous. As any administrator will tell you, Murphy's Law is always in effect when it comes to network administration. By staggering the rollout through Patch Manager IT administrators will be able to monitor and adapt based on the results.

Knowing is half the battle, they say. Patch Manager offers the capability to quickly see across your environment who is unpatched, improperly patched, or worse yet unauthorized. This further tightens up your environment, ensuring all users are using the latest and safest software.

Like all of Solarwinds offerings, Patch Manager is available for download as a 30-day trial, and begins at $2,995.

Editor's Note: Solarwinds sponsored this post.

Photo Credit: .shock/Shutterstock

Chipmaker Intel held steady in the first quarter of 2012, experiencing a dip in profits, but a very slight increase in revenue, beating the company's own expectations. Quarterly revenue was $12.9 billion, operating income was $3.8 billion, net income was $2.7 billion and earnings per share was $0.53.

"Q1 was a solid quarter and provides a great setup for year of important transitions based upon a foundation of growing process technology leadership," said Intel CEO Paul Otellini in the company's earnings call Tuesday evening.

These major transitions are quickly approaching, and they're squarely aimed at consumers. There are big things coming to the enterprise and server side in 2012 (specifically the Atom-based microserver "Centerton" SoC, which will launch in the second half,) but the big things next week will be for the consumer.

Ivy Bridge

After some delays early in the first quarter, Intel's flagship 22nm, the tri-gate 3D microprocessor family Ivy Bridge is expected to launch within the next week.

Once it launches, Ivy Bridge will become Intel's fastest ramping product yet. The company expects Ivy Bridge to comprise one-fourth of all its volume this quarter, and half of its shipments by the fourth quarter.

This is because Ivy Bridge is tied into the upcoming wave of hardware optimized for Windows 8. Otellini said the 2012 holiday season will play host to a series of new notebook/tablet hybrids and touch-enabled notebooks, which will give us all a lot to look forward to.

Joining the Android revolution

The first Intel-based smartphone is launching this week. We all know it, and Intel does not want us to forget it.

After Lenovo, Motorola, and a handful of network operators jumped on board Intel's maiden voyage into Android smartphones, the world got to see what Intel could do with Android.

So what's the difference anyway? What is a consumer going to know about the difference between an ARM-based smartphone, or one based on the x86 architecture? Judging by Intel's early demos, product positioning and the crowd to whom it has appealed, it looks like gaming is going to be the big differentiator for Intel smartphones.

Tuesday at the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas the topic was the private cloud and the public availability of System Center 2012. Microsoft switched gears on Wednesday and revealed details on the next version of Windows Intune, its public cloud offering.

Wednesday's Intune release is a beta version limited to 10 PCs. It will support all versions of Windows after XP Service Pack 3, but is currently incompatible with Windows 8, and "will not support Windows 8 until after it is generally available" according to the company.

Intune is targeted towards small and medium businesses, and offers hardware, software, and security monitoring in the cloud. In some ways, Intune is the browser-based version of System Center at a far cheaper price. IT administrators can deploy Intune for $11 per seat.

Microsoft wants to adapt Intune to the realities of today's workplace, where users bring their own devices into the workplace. "Whether corporate or user-owned, one of our goals with Windows Intune is to help manage and secure mobile devices without adding onerous cost and complexity", Intune marketing chief Eric Main says. As a result, the option to manage up to four mobile devices per seat is now included at no additional cost.

Integration with both Windows Server Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange Server is included in this release. This permits IT administrators to manage policies for devices even if they are not owned by the organization, and allow for security functionality such as remote wipe to be activated in the event a device is lost.

These features will work on any device that has Exchange ActiveSync support, meaning Intune will be able to manage both iOS and Android devices in addition to any Windows-powered devices in the organization. Microsoft says it will support Windows Phone 7, iOS 4.0 and later, and Android 2.1 and later for mobile device management.

The third refresh of Intune includes enhancements in user management. From the web-based console, administrators can now manage software for individual users through connectivity with Windows Azure's Active Directory. This will also keep user accounts and security groups synchronized with Intune for easier administration.

Azure Active Directory is described by Microsoft as a platform to "bring your applications to the cloud easily. You can enable single sign-on, security enhanced applications, and simple interoperability with existing Active Directory deployments using Access Control Service (ACS)".

Finally, Microsoft is enabling a self-service portal that permits users to download and use apps and tools authorized for use on the network. What apps the user has access to can be tailored based on the user group the account belongs to. "This enables IT to post apps that users might want to use, rather than push out to their PCs", Main explains.

"With Windows, our goal is to give end users the experiences they love and offer enterprise grade solutions that organizations need", Main says. "The next release of Windows Intune will do just that – it will help solve the consumerization challenge that businesses are facing today, and because Windows Intune is cloud-based, partners and customers get to take advantage of innovations as soon as they’re available".

Photo Credit: Digital Storm/Shutterstock

When you’ve set up your PC to carry out some lengthy task -- transcode a host of videos, say -- it can be useful to know when it’s finished. But unfortunately not every program bothers to make this obvious, which means you might regularly find yourself manually monitoring progress windows in an effort to keep an eye on what’s going on.

Sounds familiar? Then you may like to try Tell When Done, a tiny portable tool which aims to provide the progress alert which some programs are missing.

To use the program, first set it running in the background (it only consumes around 5MB RAM, not bad at all). Next, set up the application you’d like to monitor: the video conversion tool, say. Once it’s running, press the Tell When Done hotkey (Windows key + T, although this can be changed). The program will now track the CPU usage of your application. And as soon as it seems to have finished, Tell When Done will display an audio alert and a pop-up dialog to let you know.

This worked just fine in our tests of simple applications. We set them working; they stopped; the pop-up alert appeared right away. This really could be very useful for programs which don’t have obvious “Finished!” alerts of their own.

We didn’t have the same success all the time, though, unfortunately. If the process you’re monitoring actually launches another helper process to do the real work, say, Tell Well Done doesn’t appear to be smart enough to detect this. It’ll not realise that it needs to watch the helper process as well, and display its “finished” dialog right away, even if the program has barely started.

Still, Tell When Done remains an interesting idea which can be effective sometimes. Just expect some trial and error before you find out precisely what the program can do for you.

Photo Credit: Sukharevskyy Dmytro (nevodka)/Shutterstock

I certainly hadn't planned on responding to a story written in 2003 today. But, hey, the Internet's memory is better than an elephant's -- and I've been called to task for "forgetting". Most certainly I did not forget. Circumstances changed.

Yesterday, while waiting for my 90 year-old father-in-law at the optometrist, I got out my smartphone and started scanning Tumblr posts. One led to a Time magazine story about the "Hug Me Coke Machine", which I Tumblred hours late. While at Time's site, I spied something else: "Windows 8 Versions: The News Is Mostly Good" by Harry McCracken. He referred back to my old CNET story "Windows faces new competition: Itself", about fragmenting versions, and contrasted it against my more recent musings for BetaNews. Thanks for remembering, Harry.

XP Fragmented

Microsoft launched Windows XP with two versions: Home and Professional, but quickly added more: Embedded, Media Center, Tablet PC and 64-bit, among them. End users could easily buy 32-bit or 64-bit Home and Pro editions but not Embedded, Media Center or Tablet (and much later Starter), which shipped on new hardware -- like Windows RT will, presumably, later this year. I observed then that Microsoft confused customers by fragmenting Windows and attempted to artificially create competition in a monopoly market.

People want choice, and there was little of it and for many; the existing Windows installed on corporate and consumer PCs was good enough. Microsoft wanted to create competition that might spur upgrades. The strategy failed -- more on the significance later.

The XP fragmentation story posted in April 2003, within weeks of my leaving CNET and joining Jupiter Research as analyst responsible for the Microsoft practice. Two-and-half years later, I met Microsoft product managers to discuss Windows Vista. The company planned to greatly expand the number of Windows editions but, in the end, not as many as discussed during that meeting.

Whither Windows 8

Now fast forward to this week's announcement, where Microsoft modestly trimmed Windows 8 editions. For the majority of non-Chinese speaking users there are two: Windows 8 and Pro. This is the software that will ship on new PCs or you can buy to upgrade Windows 7 systems. These are largely comparable to Windows XP Home and Pro. Microsoft also will keep the Enterprise Edition introduced with Windows Vista that is available only through volume-licensing and release a Chinese-language Windows 8 version. Like Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, the new Windows RT, for devices running on ARM processors, will be available only on new hardware.

That brings me to McCracken's story. He writes:

People somtimes pine for the Windows XP era and talk about XP coming in just two well-defined editions: Home and Professional.  (Here’s Joe Wilcox recently doing that -- even though he wrote that 2003 article about the excessive number of XP versions.) They seem to be forgetting that XP is where the concept of endless specialized versions of Windows began. You had your Tablet PC Edition, your Media Center Edition, your Starter Edition, forgotten variants such as Windows XP for subscription computers.

I agree that "XP is where the concept of endless specialized versions of Windows began". But Windows XP also started with only two versions, in October 2001, and that's my point in the stories McCracken references and the newest: "Three Windows 8 versions is just right". I don't drum on about the endless XP versions because they're no more. The hardware-only versions are way out of vogue, if you can find them for sale anywhere at all. The editions that matter -- the ones installed on hundreds of millions PCs are Home and Pro, sprinkled with a little Starter for good measure.

Remember This

I didn't forget; what happened to Windows XP editions between 2003 and 2007 isn't relevant to the current discussion or what's available in the market. But getting back to basics -- two versions for x86 processors that end users can buy and install -- is. Meaning: What Microsoft released in October 2001. As I've repeatedly expressed, one Windows would be even better -- going even more back to basics. Windows 95 was one version for businesses and consumers. That's the ideal product scenario: Windows 8 for x86 and Windows RT for ARM, and nothing more.

Windows XP Media Center and Media Center editions were market failures. They sold poorly. Microsoft tried to recoup them and artificially create choice by expanding the number of editions with Windows Vista. Ultimate replaced Tablet PC and Media Center. Today Microsoft sells six Windows 7 editions, three at retail (Home, Professional and Ultimate), which is tacit admission the number is too many. Basic and Starter come on new computers and Enterprise is volume-license only.

The big difference is something I predicted in February 2006, which sets apart the versioning strategy adopted with Windows Vista from that extended from two Windows XP editions: "The version strategy may also allow Microsoft to do something not done in more than a decade: Raise desktop operating system prices, a tact that can be difficult to take in a market where one product dominates and where monopoly and a contentious antitrust case cast long shadows". That's exactly what happened by introducing Ultimate and strong-arm licensing tactics for Enterprise (Microsoft demands enterprises use this edition, which also requires paying extra for Software Assurance).

I didn't forget. I made reference to what was Windows XP at launch and what it is today as widely-deployed software: Home and Pro. Then there is what Microsoft did with new editions later on: Effectively raise prices in a non-competitive market. Everyone would be wise to remember that and wonder, with increased competition from non-PC devices and Macs running other operating systems, what Microsoft will charge end users, OEMs and volume-license subscribers for Windows 8.

Mobile network operator Verizon Wireless on Wednesday announced it will be auctioning off all of its 700 MHz A and B spectrum licenses if it can obtain the AWS licenses from SpectrumCo, a joint venture held by the United States' biggest multi-network operators: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Cox, and Leap Wireless.

Last December, SpectrumCo announced it would be selling 122 licenses in the AWS spectrum to Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion so the wireless carrier could further build out its 4G LTE network, which currently resides in the upper C band in the 700MHz block.

As a part of the spectrum sale, Verizon Wireless and SpectrumCo drafted several agreements in which the cable companies and Verizon Wireless would become agents to sell each other's products. Furthermore, the cable companies would gain wholesale access to Verizon Wireless' services.

This would all have to pass regulatory muster, of course, and this is the reason for the spectrum sale.

"Since wireless operators, large and small, have expressed concern about the availability of high-quality spectrum, we believe our 700 MHz licenses will be attractive to a wide range of buyers," said Molly Feldman, vice president of Business Development for Verizon Wireless in a statement on Wednesday. "Moreover, provided our acquisition of AWS spectrum is approved, our open sale process will ensure these A and B spectrum licenses are quickly and fairly made available for the benefit of other carriers and their customers."

The A block licenses constitute the major metropolitan areas of: New York, Philadelphia, Washington-Baltimore, Orlando, Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Los Angeles, Fresno, San Francisco and Sacramento.

The B block licenses constitute cellular market regions which tend to be the more suburban and rural areas, but include such areas as Chicago, Memphis, and Charlotte among the list of more than fifty zones.

Children often suffer when parents make bad decisions. For the marriage of Microsoft and Nokia, there is trouble looming for the kids -- that's you, buyers of Lumia smartphones. The next version of Windows Phone codename Apollo may not be supported. That's the rumor shooting across the web today. Here's one bit of gossip every current Windows Phone owner should hope is wrong.

I've got no inside intelligence here, hearing nothing either way about Lumia upgrades. But I can see scenarios where Apollo might be a problem, particularly for older CPUs or GPUs. For example, all current Windows Phones are single-core. Surely double-core handsets are coming, but will the software support single-core CPUs? It's the first question to ask, with rumors a flying and Microsoft not denying.

Microsoft has long made backward compatibility a top design priority, and that's something I can only hope won't change for Windows Phone. So far, Microsoft has done right by end users, quickly dispatching Windows Phone software upgrades and supporting most existing hardware. Looking ahead, anything less would be a marketing disaster for flagship handsets.

AT&T started selling Lumia 900 here in the United States on April 8, in three colors. White model hits stores April 22. The smartphone is Nokia's flagship, for which Microsoft and its partners are spending beacoup bucks to market. Then what, a few months into subscribers' two-year contractual commitment, they discover their sizzling hot Windows Phone is obsolete? Say it ain't so, Microsoft and Nokia.

But if it's true, they can't say anything. It's a rock and a hard place. What Microsoft, Nokia or Windows Phone enthusiasts will buy now knowing they'll be cheated later? Silence is confirmation, if it persists. Speak up Nokia and Microsoft. Tell us you'll do the right thing by customers -- in the way we expect you to.

CNET's Lance Whitney asks my question: "No Windows Phone 8 upgrade for you?" The Verge has conflicting reports: "Sources: current Windows Phone devices will not get 'Apollo' upgrade" and "All Windows Phones to get upgrade to 'next major version,' according to Microsoft developer evangelist" both by Dieter Bohn. The "no upgrade" story is more recent and the one setting off lots of InterWeb chatter this morning.

The trouble I see is Lumia. Backward compatibility can only go so far. It's not reasonable to expect Microsoft to support the oldest Windows Phones. Lumia is different, however. The first handsets hit market late last year, and Lumia 900 is freshly baked. Lumia is the first offspring of the Microsoft-Nokia marriage. There are high expectations here, which Apollo could lay low.

Microsoft, Nokia, do the right thing. Don't cheat Lumia owners of Windows Phone 8.

If you’re a PC user looking for a free tool to both download and convert video between a large number of different formats, you’re well covered, with the likes of Freemake Video Converter offering all the tools you need. But what if you’re a Mac user?

Free video downloading and converting tools, such as MacTubes and Handbrake exist, but you end up mixing and matching to get the functionality you want. Not any more: now Mac users can get all these features in a single free tool, called Adapter 1.4.

Adapter, which is also available for Windows, allows you to convert to and from a wide variety of formats -- while Handbrake supports a large number of input formats, you can only output to MP4 or MKV. Adapter, by contrast, also supports AVI, MPG and even Flash video as output formats too.

As you’d expect with a tool like this, you can either manually tweak your output settings to perfection, or choose from a variety of presets covering a wide number of consoles and mobile devices -- version 1.4 added support for the new iPad’s retina display and Apple TV 2.

Adapter also features a video trimming tool, which allows you to shave the beginning and end of your video to remove unwanted extras. You can even extract the audio from a video track for listening to independently.

The program also comes with its own built-in web browser, which allows you to go hunting for Flash-based video such as that hosted on YouTube. It’ll automatically add video to a downloads panel, and from here you can download and convert for viewing on your computer or portable device when offline.

As we stated earlier, Adapter is also available for Windows users, although its development seems to have stalled (the current version is 1.0.30). Since that release, the Mac version has evolved a brand new interface, plus improved conversion filters and added support for a wider range of devices. One reason to download it sooner rather than later, however, is this line from the program’s FAQ: “How much does Adapter cost? Adapter is free for a limited time.”

With that in mind, you might want to hurry over to our download site now: Adapter is available as a freeware download for both Mac (version 1.4) and Windows (version 1.0.30).

If you’re looking to maintain your privacy online then you could sign up for a VPN service. But which one? There’s a lot of choice, and if you’re a networking novice then figuring out which service is right for you can be a real challenge.

But that’s where Spotflux comes in. This interesting new VPN service comes packed with useful functionality --- encryption, ad-blocking, antivirus and more -- yet really couldn’t be any easier to configure.

We downloaded and launched the client, for example, which walked us through a simple setup process. And that was it, no need to reboot, everything was working right away.

Our connection was now encrypted, then. Our location was concealed (we had a new public-facing IP address). And as our traffic was redirected through the Spotflux servers, it also stripped out ads, tracking cookies, viruses, malware and more.

What was most remarkable, though, was the lack of any interface complexity at all. The main window only allows you to enable or disable Spotflux with a click. And even the settings dialog didn’t contain anything much: you can set the UI language, define how updates are to be installed and configure an optional proxy, but that’s about it.

If there’s a small problem it’s in a slight but noticeable delay when surfing via Spotflux. Overall the system still performs well for a free VPN, though, so if you’re looking to maintain your online privacy without any of the usual technical hassles then the program definitely merits a closer look.

Lakhesis/Shutterstock

Do you find that you never have time to read the articles you discover online? In the past you may have turned to Read It Later to bookmark a site so that you can refer back to it later, but now there is a new analogy to work with. Read It Later has been re-launched as Pocket, so you can now ‘pocket’ those stories you don’t have time to read right now and save them to your online account ready for when you have more spare time.

The rebranding is more than just a change of name; there are also new features that you can take advantage of as well as a redesigned interface. Whether you are surfing the web in your preferred browser, or you discover an interesting link on Twitter or Facebook, Pocket enables you to quickly and effectively bookmark pages, images and videos so you can easily access them later. Content can be saved using a browser extension or using the dedicated iOS or Android apps.

Whichever method you use to save, your content is synched to your account so it can be accessed from any device with an Internet connection. Spend a little while working with the service and you’ll no doubt find that you very quickly build up a pretty extensive list of articles you have saved. To make it easier to root through them, you have the option of filtering content by type as well as using the search tool to home in on a particular article based on title or URL.

The redesigned interface has something of a familiar feel to it as it boasts a Metro-inspired tile based look. This is all very neat and distraction-free, and when you clip any article for reading later you can view just the content of the article itself without the unnecessary page furniture of the web site it came from. With support for a massive range of apps as well as various browser extensions, Pocket has improved upon the already impressive options available in Read It Later.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the app for iOS and Android by paying a visit to the Pocket review page. There are also browser extensions available for Chrome and Firefox.

Things continue to develop apace in the world of Opera, with the latest snapshot of Opera Next showcasing camera support. The latest addition to the browser means that developers will now be able to use JavaScript to access webcams, which opens up new levels of interactivity with web pages -- everything from using your webcam as a color picker to simplifying the process of uploading a picture of yourself.

There are obvious privacy concerns when web pages are allowed to access webcams, but Opera Next ensures that users are kept informed about what is going on and are given the chance to block or permit connection as they see fit. Whenever a page attempts to access your camera you are warned by the appearance of a popup that gives you the opportunity to block or allow the site on a permanent or one-off basis.

Websites are also able to make use of a site visitor’s location and changes have been made to Opera’s tabs to allow this information to be conveyed to the user. Whenever a site is making use of an attached camera or is using location information, badge icons are displayed in the relevant tab. Simple tab-based controls can then be used to make further changes to permission settings as and when required.

As this is a very early snapshot of a future release of Opera, it is only reasonable to expect that there are going to be a few problems here and there. That said, things are already looking good and there are a few demonstration web sites that can be used to test out the capabilities of the new camera support -- take a look at Photo Booth, Polaroid, Color Picker, Explode and Speedo for samples.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the app by paying a visit to the Opera Next review page; there is also a 64-bit version of the program available.

Photo Credit: alterfalter/Shutterstock

Last February, Google launched the first version of its Chrome Web browser for Android 4.0, undoubtedly one of the most significant applications that could be released for Android. While it was received with great fanfare, I said it was still far too early to call it a real winner due to a few missing features.

Tuesday, Google issued a major update to the young browser that added a few of those features, significantly advancing Chrome for Android against its competition.

Some of these features include: the ability to change the user-agent string and set the browser to default to desktop versions of sites, the ability to add Chrome bookmarks as homescreen shortcuts, the ability to pick which installed applications handle Chrome links, and the ability to use Chrome with the system proxy configured in Android settings.

With this beta, Google has also made Chrome for Android available everywhere that Google Play is available, and in a total of 31 different languages.

Chrome for Android Beta (0.18.4409.2396) can be downloaded in Google Play.

Microsoft is pushing the cloud heavily at this years Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas, and its private cloud offerings are taking center stage. The company announced the general availability of System Center 2012, its private cloud management platform.

Private cloud deployments are exactly what the name entails -- for consumption internally -- and can be hosted either internally or by a third-party provider. System Center's public cloud equivalent is Windows Intune, which launched last March.

System Center is made up of eight parts. Among them: System Center Configuration Manager gives users the ability to manage non-Microsoft devices within the private cloud, while Virtual Machine Manager will manage virtualization deployments within the cloud. Additionally, System Center App Controller will assist in management of the cloud itself.

Other components include:

• Operations Manager, a datacenter management tool
• Data Protection Manager
• Service Manager, aimed at helping IT deployments to increase productivity with the private cloud
• Endpoint Protection, a cloud anti-malware and security solution
• Orchestrator, Microsoft's cloud workflow management application

"Microsoft cloud solutions such as System Center 2012 are also helping IT address the consumerization of IT", corporate vice president Brad Anderson says. "We take a 'people-centric approach' that empowers end-users to employ any device, anywhere, boosting productivity while providing you with governance and control".

System Center already has some successes under its belt. Anderson highlights three companies that see efficiencies as a result of System Center and Microsoft's private cloud. New York-based luxury car service Empire took its dispatch to the cloud and saved 50 percent in datacenter costs; Apartments.com uses the private cloud to power its apartment search capabilities and saved 75 percent in licensing costs.

"There is a feeling of optimism in IT and excitement about the benefits of cloud computing", Anderson writes in a TechNet blog post. "What I hear now is you are still worried about the challenges, but you see how cloud computing can help you and your IT departments deliver more business value to your companies than ever before".

Two versions of System Center are available. Standard will support two operating environments, while DataCenter supports an unlimited number. The software is generally available starting Tuesday. A 180-day trial of System Center is available, and pricing begins at $1,323 for Standard and $3,607 for DataCenter.

Photo Credit: Alexander Kirch/Shutterstock

Developer tool and software company Sencha Inc. on Tuesday announced a new brand in HTML5 UI design and coding called Sencha Architect 2. The software is aimed at Web designers and users who want to create cross-platform HTML5 apps in a visual, drag and drop environment.

Sencha Architect 2 is an upgrade from the company's Ext Designer HTML5 layout product and can be used with Sencha's other products Touch 2 and Ext JS 4 to facilitate touch-based mobile app development or development of standalone desktop Web apps. Sencha says it dropped the name "Designer" because it no longer described the functionality of the software. It's moved from being a User Interface design tool to a more all-encompassing package that lets engineers and designers work together in the same environment.

It lets designers drag-and-drop components to create user interfaces and connect to backend data sources, and it lets developers use pre-built UI controls, or use the full code editing capabilities. It supports a team collaborative workflow, and includes the ability to natively package creations for iOS and Android. All files created in Architect 2 are pure .js, so it doesn't generate dependencies.

A single license of Sencha Architect 2 costs $399, and there are discounts for 5 and 20 licenses. Sencha Inc also offers a discounted upgrade path if you are a user of Ext Designer 1.

Sencha Architect 2 is available for Mac OS, Windows, and Linux platforms.

It's codename Windows 8 Server no more. Keeping with previous year nomenclature, Microsoft today officially announced Windows Server 2012, during its Management Summit in Las Vegas. Corporate vice president Brad Anderson also confirmed the software would ship later this year, another indicator Windows 8 is on track for autumn launch.

Microsoft tends to be very specific with products that have a year in the name. Windows Server 2008 got its name in Mid-May 2007. The company has some rules about nomenclature, and that one foreshadowed late-year release at best (the software launched in February 2008). The deliberate 2012 nomenclature signals Microsoft's confidence that the new Windows Server will ship this year and likely sooner than later.

The official naming comes less than a day after Microsoft unveiled official desktop editions: Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro for x86. The Redmond, Wash.-based company will continue offering a volume-license-only Enterprise edition and, separately, Chinese-language Windows 8. Another edition, Windows RT, will be available for ARM processors.

Windows Server 2012's big marketing push is the cloud and the software as foundation for businesses creating private clouds or third-parties -- Microsoft among them -- public cloud infrastructure. After years of toe-in-the-water experimentation, IT organizations are accelerating cloud adoption.

"There is a feeling of optimism in IT and excitement about the benefits of cloud computing", Anderson asserts. He adds:

What I hear now is you are still worried about the challenges, but you see how cloud computing can help you and your IT departments deliver more business value to your companies than ever before. You see that you can enable this change and help your business realize cloud computing benefits – greater agility, increased focus on innovation and significant cost savings.

"Many organizations have now passed the definitional stage of cloud computing and are testing cloud architectures inside and outside the enterprise and over time, the cloud will simply become one of the ways that we 'do' computing, and workloads will move around in hybrid internal/external IT environments", Chris Howard, Gartner managing vice president, says.

"As a result, the traditional role of the enterprise IT professional is changing and becoming multifaceted", he adds. "A hybrid IT model requires internal and external IT professionals to support the business capabilities of the enterprise".

Many organizations are choosing public cloud services for non-critical applications, but building private clouds where critical applications or data demand accountable security and privacy mechanisms. There Windows Server 2012 -- what Microsoft calls a "cloud-optimized OS" -- will be a crucial product for many businesses.

Microsoft's timing for Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 and System Server 2012, which is available today, bucks against uncertain economic times. But Gartner's recent CEO survey shows chief executives' determination to keep investing in technology this year.

"The intention to invest in technology is comparatively healthy" Jorge Lopez, Gartner vice president, says. "The newer trends, such as mobile and cloud, are rising to the foreground of CEO’s attention. However, CRM remains CEOs’ favorite IT capability because marketing is a never-ending competitive quest for customer retention".

Will your business invest in Windows Server 2012 this year?

Photo Credit: fbmadeira/Shutterstock

My daughter watched him sing last night on YouTube, so it must be true.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Annual Festival is underway here in California. Weekend 1 just finished, with another three days of performances coming April 20-22. Third night's bang-up headliner: Rapper Tupac Shakur. He died in 1996.

MTV's Gil Kaufman explains how Tupac returned from the grave via hologram. You can thank Dr. Dre and AV Concepts, which is based here in San Diego.

"This show was by far one of the most exciting yet challenging projects we have ever worked on", AV Concepts president Nick Smith says. "A highly choreographed, live, outdoor holographic production of this magnitude with hundreds of thousands of people watching gave us the added incentive, and pressure, to deliver".

2Pac performed with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog, reportedly before a crowd of 100,000.

Seriously, this is every music label executive's dream come true. Rock Star X dies young and posthumously sells beaucoup albums. Then he starts performing live gigs, resurrected by hologram, generating massive ticket sales, too.

"To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time anyone decided it would be a good idea to resurrect a long-dead music icon for the sole purpose of a performance", James Montgomery observes for MTV. "I'm willing to bet it won't be the last. Whether or not that's a good thing is largely up to you. Part séance, part neo-necromancy, Holo-pac also almost certainly heralds the coming of a brave new era of revenue-grabbing, legacy-tarnishing spectacle".

Do we perhaps love our musicians a little too much to let them go? Surely music labels love the money they generate. Hollywood Reporter's Jordan Zakarin says 2Pac's hologram may go on tour.

Then there are aging rockers. Who wants to see a bunch of balding, middle-aged fat guys singing yesteryear's hits. Put the old frakers behind a curtain, instead. They play and sing while holograms of their younger selves romp the stage and scream at moshers.

Say, Bud, you better check the fine print on that recording contract and see exactly who controls rights to your image when you die. Technology that amazes today could be mainstream tomorrow.

Berlin-based O&O Software GmbH has released O&O Defrag 15.5 Professional Edition,  the latest version of its renowned drive layout and defragmentation tool. Also available as a dedicated 64-bit build, version 15.5’s adds one major new feature: remote control.

Remote control gives users the ability to connect to another networked computer running O&O Defrag 15.5 and access the program as if they physically sit at that PC. It will appeal largely to network and system administrators, but may also prove beneficial to those running two or three PCs in separate rooms at home.

The feature requires that port 50300 is opened on the target computer’s firewall, and that O&O Defrag 15.5 is configured to allow remote access -- this setting can be found on the Advanced dropdown menu of the General tab of the program’s settings.

The host then opens O&O Defrag 15.5 on their own machine, selects Connect to computer from the main menu, enters the target’s network IP address and clicks Connect. Once achieved, the user can then remotely control O&O Defrag 15.5 on that computer.

The update is free to existing users of O&O Defrag 15 Professional, and includes all improvements added to the  previous build, such as considerably shorter defrag times (up to 40 percent quicker), optimisation of SSD drives and automatic updates.

O&O Defrag 15.5 Professional Edition 32-bit and 64-bit are both available as a free trial downloads for PCs running Windows XP or later. The Pro edition retails at $29 for a single-PC license, or you can purchase it for just $23 through the Downloadcrew Software Store. Bulk licenses, including a three-PC Family edition ($49), are also available.

Photo Credit: Balazs Justin/Shutterstock

Stalwart of the file compression world WinZip has received a major upgrade that sees the introduction of a number of new features along with other enhancements and performance improvements. WinZip 16.5 has a strong focus on performance with a completely upgraded 64-bit engine as well as improved performance when used in conjunction with AMD processors.

Anyone with AMD Fusion processors and AMD Radeon GPUs will see the speed, but the overall performance of the app as a whole feels snappier. There is also a new look for the program, and the facelift helps to breathe new life into an archiving tool that many people have been using for a decade or more. The ribbon-style toolbar takes inspiration from the likes of Microsoft Office and gives a more streamlined feel while providing access to a huge range of features and options.

As well as the new interface and enhancements, there are also new options to enjoy. If you’ve already been using WinZip to take care of your backup procedure, there is now the ability to burn these backups directly to Blu-ray discs -- provided you are using the Pro version of the program. It’s not just backups that have benefited from a storage space boost; if you have created a large file that you want to share with others, you can do so using the ZipSend cloud service rather than trying to rely on email attachments.

The potential for improvement in WinZip is slowly reducing, but this particular release shows that there was still a little that could be done. It’s difficult to see just where the software is going to move forward from here aside from further improvements to performance, but this latest release show that there is still plenty of life left in the granddaddy of compression.

You can find out more and download a free trial of the app by paying a visit to the WinZip 16.5 review page.

Photo Credit: Arkady/Shutterstock

Comodo Group has released new versions of its backup tools for Windows users. COMODO Backup 4.1.2 introduces a number of new features, including an automatic option for creating WinPE-based rescue discs, while Comodo Cloud 2.1.6 is a maintenance release offering a number of minor bug fixes.

COMODO Backup 4.1.2 allows users to back up selected files and entire drive images to just about any location, including external drives, optical discs, network, FTP and, of course, Comodo’s own cloud-storage servers, with 5GB of online storage provided free of charge. Comodo Cloud 2.1.6 is Comodo’s standlone client for exclusively connecting to your Comodo cloud-based backup space via Windows -- a mobile app is also available for iOS and Android users.

The headline feature in COMODO Backup 4.1.2 is a new option for creating a WinPE-based rescue disc (or ISO image) automatically via the program’s Settings menu. From here the user can select a compatible drive or opt to create an ISO file, then set the process in motion with a single click.

Other changes are minor: network shares have been added as a supported backup source, while all mounted backups (including CCloud drives) are now seen as removable rather than fixed drives in Windows, allowing users to eject them from within the OS itself.

Custom profiles can now be scheduled, and both shortcuts and profiles are now found on their own dedicated tab -- users will find the last backup is now set as a defined profile under the Shortcuts tab. Switching to the Backup tab will now automatically launch a new backup process allowing the user to immediately start setting up the what, how, where and when of a backup.

The user can now opt to exclude both system and hidden files from backups, and choose not to restore NTFS security attributes when restoring data -- a useful option when restoring user data to a new Windows installation or computer.

Version 4.1.2 also includes a large number of bug fixes and improvements, all listed at this forum post.

Comodo Cloud 2.1.6, which is automatically installed with COMODO Backup, is by contrast is a minor maintenance release, with a handful of issues -- including one that allows both COSService and SyncService processes to monitor the other and attempt an automatically restart in the event of an unexpected crash -- fixed for this minor release.

Both COMODO Backup 4.1.2 and Comodo Cloud 2.1.6 are freeware downloads for PCs running Windows XP or later. Also available for mobile users is Comodo Cloud for iOS and Android. Online backup requires a Comodo Cloud account -- 5GB is provided free, or the user can upgrade within either app to a 250GB account for $9.99 a month, or $99.99 per year.

Common sense has returned to Windows product marketing. After rumors of nine Windows 8 editions sent me into near cardiac arrest last month, Microsoft instead has gone back to basics. The new operating system will come in just two editions for x86 processors -- Windows 8 and 8 Pro. If you're running Windows XP today, as most people still are, these two will be familiar to you, right down to the major differences between them, being similar to Home and Professional Editions. The third, Windows RT, is for devices running ARM processors, and, as Microsoft previously disclosed, will only be available on new hardware. You can install Windows 8 or Pro on your PC, but RT comes preloaded.

Hot damn! There's seriously fresh thinking going on over at the Windows & Windows Live division. Someone pinch me and pray tell I'm not dreaming. The only thing better than this would be lower pricing, which, admittedly, I'm not hopeful for. But one can dream within the dream!

Windows isn't Toothpaste

Today's announcement also signals, with certainty short of alien invasion or Mayan-end-of-the-world predictions come true, that Windows 8 will ship this year. I'm still looking for October launch, and September is still reachable depending on when gold code is ready. Microsoft also tips that Windows 8 marketing will be Mad Men worthy. The stars are lining up for something truly exceptional, and given lackluster PC sales Microsoft partners need it.

I've long criticized Microsoft for the multi-edition approach, back to when product managers revealed the plan to me during meetings in late 2005. My suggestion then: One version and no more than two. Operating systems aren't toothpaste. Microsoft sought to create choice where none existed, because of the Windows monopoly.

Today, consumers have lots of choices. Mac market share is over 10 percent in the United States, according to Gartner and IDC, and tablets running Android or iOS compete against Windows Tablet PCs. Gartner and IDC report negligible market share for Windows tablets. By comparison, Pew Internet says that two out of every 10 American adults already own a tablet -- and, yes, based on other market share data most likely iPad. Given increasing competition for device dollars, the last thing Microsoft should do is make buying Windows any more complicated. Two versions for x86 plus one for ARM is enough -- it's just right.

KISS of Death

KISS -- keep it simple, stupid -- is the kiss of death when not followed in marketing matters. Simplicity sells, complexity smells, and this is truer in marketing than almost anything else. I've long argued that one reason Windows XP hung around so long is the overwhelming marketing complexity -- and price increases with it -- Microsoft introduced with Windows Vista and continued with successor 7.

Microsoft chose the features differentiating one of the many editions from the next, rather than letting competition and consumer choice dictate them. Not surprisingly, buyers -- and OEMs selling PCs -- chose differently and consistently two editions: Home Premium and Enterprise, the latter of which is purchased through Microsoft volume-licensing programs.

The market consolidated around two editions. Finally Microsoft meets that choice, by going back to basics: Home and Pro. I would still prefer to see one edition, which is what Apple does with OS X on the desktop. But I'm too giddy about the positives here to really complain.

Something else: Businesses and consumers have enough change to deal with because of Metro. The new user interface will jar many users and scar others, because, regrettably, many people don't like change. The last thing Microsoft should want to do is add complexity onto complexity, by pumping out mucho Windows 8 editions along with a radical user-interface re-design.

One strong ARM

Core features will largely overlap between Windows 8 and Pro. Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc explains the important differences:

Windows 8 Pro is designed to help tech enthusiasts and business/technical professionals obtain a broader set of Windows 8 technologies. It includes all the features in Windows 8 plus features for encryption, virtualization, PC management and domain connectivity. Windows Media Center will be available as an economical 'media pack' add-on to Windows 8 Pro. If you are an enthusiast or you want to use your PC in a business environment, you will want Windows 8 Pro.

Windows RT will be a "single edition" for ARM processors, he explains further. It's clear the nomenclature plays off WinRT and emphasizes its importance. That won't mean much to consumers perhaps, but it will to developers and some IT departments. Windows RT is a Metro-only environment. Microsoft doesn't provide a legacy desktop, like with Windows 8 and Pro.

"Windows RT will include touch-optimized desktop versions of the new Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote", LeBlanc explains. "For new apps, the focus for Windows RT is development on the new Windows runtime, or WinRT, which we unveiled in September and forms the foundation of a new generation of cloud-enabled, touch-enabled, web-connected apps of all kinds". As I explained in February, Windows on ARM is the future of the operating system.

One version makes sense. On ARM, Microsoft faces lots of competition, looking at Android and iOS lead on media tablets and smartphones. KISS is the only sensible marketing approach.

Windows Secret Edition

I originally titled this post "Three Windows 8 editions is just right, Enterprise is too many", but condensed it to cut Microsoft some slack. There's a hidden gotcha -- the third x86 edition not emphasized in today's announcement. Enterprise edition isn't going away.

I only see it as a problem if Microsoft keeps requirements applied to Windows Vista and 7. Microsoft demands larger businesses to take Enterprise, which requires they also pay up for Software Assurance, too. I've long argued this licensing requirement discourages businesses from getting off Windows XP.

If Microsoft applies same terms to Windows 8, then Windows Pro is nothing but reduced-feature Vista or 7 Ultimate Edition. Perhaps Pro and Enterprise will be the same functionally, but one only available through volume-licensing. If they're feature equivalent, why have three x86 editions at all? Two is enough. Three's a crowd.

So what do you think? Is this approach sensible or simple enough? I'm impressed now, but the devil is in the details, as they say. Pricing and any more surprises are details that will matter much.

Editor's Note: Home Premium name corrected.

Whether you are an engineer, a designer, a programmer or of any other trade that requires skill, the one lesson many have been taught early on is "keep it simple". Sadly this lesson is often lost in the name of progress, especially when it comes to programming.

Let me give you one example. I know this won't go over well with most programmers, but it needs to be said. Languages like C++ simply are not simple by design. Object-oriented programming, while possibly having some value for specific tasks, does not make programming simpler. I would venture to say that the so-called benefits of object-oriented programming has more to do with the feature set of the higher level objects that some languages provide, more so than it being accomplished using OOP.

Coding environments are no longer code editors, but they are studio environments, which do little in my opinion to make programming easier. Sure, most programmers will say they are more productive now than in the past using their favorite studio environment, but a valid question to ask: Are programmers actually writing better code today, writing code faster or are we simply looking for the computer to do all the work, rather than us do the work?

I enjoy writing code. I enjoy looking for solutions to problems and being creative in the code I write. I have found though that once some developers get away from the drag-and-drop environment, they may find themselves at a loss of how to accomplish a task. Programming tools and languages today, supposely are designed to improve productivity in software development, but in the end, much depends upon the programmer themselves.

The human mind is a better debugger than any man-made application can be. Developers of programming tools can't always be trying to solve their customers' problems by making the tools do all the work. Programmers need to learn how to code, how to debug. Coding is a skill. Debugging is a skill. When a programming environment becomes so complex that one has to read a dozen books on how to use them, then something is definitely wrong. Is that ones idea of ease of use?

Code Readability

Any programmer worth his or her salt, should be a learner. You can't know everything, but when you currently lack the knowledge necessary to accomplish a task, you must be willing to learn from other peoples' code. How quickly one grasps what code is actually doing, depends mostly on how readable the code is. Code readability in my opinion is the real test of whether a programmer has really learned the lesson of "keep it simple".

Sadly, most code I come across today is neither simple nor easily readable. I am not a C programmer (I use BASIC), but I have to examine a lot of C code to find solutions to problems, since the majority of Windows API code examples are in either C or C++. Because I am an API programmer (WIN32) I research a lot of code on the Web (ie. MSDN, Code Project, etc.) to see how to properly access Windows API's. While I don't know C (nor do I personally  like it), I usually don't have too much problem making sense of good old fashioned non-OOP C code. Now when it comes to C++, half the time I just can't even make sense of what some code is doing.

Procedural Compared to Object-Oriented Code

I have found that procedural code is often far more readable than OOP code is. While I prefer the naturalness of BASIC over say C, even with a language like C, I can see C (procedural coded) as being far easier to read than C++ is. I personally find procedural style code is more likely to be "simple" and easy to read, than OOP code is.

Programming takes time (time is money as they say) and I could write procedural code much faster than OOP code, with much less preplanning involved. What is needed though, is more modular design, which improves code readability and makes debugging easier.

Code does not need to be object-oriented to be modular. Procedural code can and should be modular in design (code reusability). Even well written Assembler, with proper modular design, can be easy to read and to code. There are some valuable points made by Richard Mansfield in his "Has OOP failed?" white paper and while I would not say that all OOP is bad, I do believe it is important to not over emphasize OOP as the solution to all programming problems. OOP has not produced simpler code over all, in my opinion. It may offer some benefits in User Interface coding, but even there it is not necessarily superior.

IntelliSense or Common Sense?

While I won't go as far as to say that IntelliSense is wrong, I do believe that modern coding environments do say something about the state of programming. For the average developer, if you took away the IntelliSense feature of the code editors, he or she likely would be overwhelmed. Why? Because of the object craze, everything has to be an object and so programming languages are inundated with a huge command set, which has become more like a New York phone book (over exaggerated for emphasis) than a programming language command set.

Downside of the Bleeding Edge!

This is one thing that concerns me because as an individual software developer I find it challenging to try to keep up with the all changes in technology. I don't have the resources (or time and strength) to keep being retrained. I use what I know and build upon that over time. As I research all the new things coming along in the tech world, the one hat stands out: Developers' obsessive thirst for new things.

New stuff isn't bad, but if we always keep developing software for the bleeding edge of technology, then we lose the benefit of all our hard work in the past. We all have heard the saying "don't reinvent the wheel" and it makes sense to a developer, but sadly because everyone keeps developing for the bleeding edge, we are forced to reinvent the wheel over and over again and sometimes the wheel gets worse in each iteration. This wastes time, money and resources.  It is possible to continue to use development methods that to some may seem dated, while progressively adding new technologies at a more reasonable pace.

To illustrate this, consider automobiles. They have come a long way since their invention, but amazingly there are some core designs in cars which have not changed all that much in 30 years. While many mechanics today use computers to diagnose computer problems, you may be surprised that some tools mechanics use have been around for decades and are still useful today. When I had to diagnose a severe problem with my car, the most useful tool was actually the good old vacuum guage. Sure I could plug in in the diagnostic computer (OBDII), but the vacuum gauge actually told me more than the computer did. I ended up rebuilding the entire engine in the end, but the point is that an old tool was still useful and even more helpful than a new one.

If programming languages keep changing year after year, but fail to maintain backward compatibility, then years of software development are literally thrown out the door. That wastes money, wastes time and wastes valuable experience and resources. We end up "reinventing the wheel" over and over again, but have we actually improved software that much?

If you wonder why many businesses are still using Windows XP, a more than 10 year old operating system, perhaps the old adage is true: "it if isn't broken, don't fix it". That is a valid question to ask, whether some of the software today is really innovation or simply just an obsession with the bleeding edge and the desire for something different, but not necessarily better.

For example, I live in a rural area and in just a few years I have gone from dial-up Internet, to 768Kbps high-speed and now 1.5Mbps. Now I can download stuff a lot faster, which is nice, but my overall experience with websites has not improved as dramatically as I had hoped. Website developers assume that more people have high-speed connections, so they get careless about how fast pages will load. Improved broadband speeds are lost because of careless web design. A similiar thing has happened with software. As computers get faster and faster, the experience does not necessarily get better and better.

An Interesting Experiment

An interesting experiment to try is this: If you can find an old copy of Windows 95/98 sitting around and some old CPU intensive application that dates back to Windows 95/98 (ie. 3D Modeler designer), try installing the software on a computer that is far more powerful than what was available when the software was available. For example, install it on a computer with a 1 ghz CPU with 1GB memory. Most of the computers when Windows 95/98 were around were likely less than 100MHz in speed. You may be surprised to see how "fast and fluid" the experience is using the software. Now imagine running the software on, say, a top-of-the-line, multi-core CPU we have today.

I really don't get the impression were are producing all that much better software than we did in the past.  Coding environments definitely lack simplicity. Software is slower than it needs to be. Software is likely still just as riddled with bugs as it was 15 years ago. Software development is likely no more productive than it was 15 years ago. User experience is not necessarily significantly improved compared to the past.

So, I ask. Again. Has programming lost its way? I will leave that up to you to answer.

Photo Credit: Gunnar Pippel/Shutterstock

Chris Boss is an advanced Windows API programmer and developer of 10 year-old EZGUI, which is now version 5. He owns The Computer Workshop, which opened for businesses in the late 1980s. He originally developed custom software for local businesses. Now he develops programming tools for use with the PowerBasic compiler.

Surely it's no surprise that nearly nine out of 10 American adults owns a cell phone. But would you believe that 19 percent own an ebook reader or tablet? Or that one in five dosen't use the Internet? These are among the fascinating findings from a fresh Pew Internet report "Digital Differences".

The findings are a blueprint for understanding Americans' digital lifestyles and what gadgets -- and supporting products and services -- fit in where. Major tech companies create distinct digital lifestyles people buy into, which is particularly true for Apple, Dell, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and Sony among others. Apple, Google and Microsoft are in pitched lifestyle product competition, and should look to studies like this one to understand the stunning nuances connected, so-called post-PC devices bring to consumer behavior.

Pew's Aaron Smith and Kathryn Zickuhr write:

Currently, 88 percent of American adults age 18 and older have a cell phone, 57 percent have a laptop, 19 percent own an ebook reader, and 19 percent have a tablet computer; about six in ten adults (63 percent) go online wirelessly with one of those devices. Gadget ownership is generally correlated with age, education, and household income, although some devices, notably ebook readers and tablets, are as popular or even more popular with adults ages 30-49 than those under 30.

Then there is Internet usage, for which demographics show wide gulfs. For example, 85 percent of college educated American adults have broadband at home compared to 22 percent of those who didn't complete high school. More broadly, six in 10 American adults have broadband at home -- that's up from 11 percent a decade ago.

But Pew's data presents an interesting trend the report's authors don't really address. Broadband adoption is down from 2010, when it was 66 percent. Based on this report and others from Pew, I can guess. Some Americans are replacing home broadband with connected-device wireless, whether built-in cellular 3G/4G, public hotspots or (more likely) both.

The change and reasons for it are hugely important as what I call the cloud-connected device (many analysts use the aforementioned post-PC and others PC-plus) era advances. Here Smith and Zickuhr identify changes in digital lifestyle:

As our research has documented the rise of mobile Internet use, we have also noticed a 'mobile difference': Once someone has a wireless device, she becomes much more active in how she uses the internet -- not just with wireless connectivity, but also with wired devices. The same holds true for the impact of wireless connections and people’s interest in using the internet to connect with others. These mobile users go online not just to find information but to share what they find and even create new content much more than they did before.

Connected-device owners use the Internet more and they are more engaged than traditional PC users, particularly cloud services (cue trumpets for Facebook and Google). Pew identified the early trend three years ago in report "The Mobile Difference".

AT&T gouges me for Internet usage -- 30 bucks a piece for three cellular data plans and another $65 for 24Mbps wired Internet. We get faster throughput on the LTE phones, and I'd gladly dump broadband and only use LTE and the local Internet cafe if there was unlimited family data plan for our smartphones. That's how my behavior would change.

For everyone else, Pew's report adds much to Gartner's recent prediction: cloud will replace the PC as the "center of users' digital lives" by 2014. Today's digital lifestyle is more about the cloud, sync, multiple devices and mobile Internet connections. But you knew that already, right? Because you're living the cloud connected-device life style already -- yes?

Photo Credit: Digital Storm/Shutterstock

A company more known for its work in the aerospace industry is now Android's newest partner. Boeing this week announced plans to release a smartphone aimed at those requiring super-secure communications, yet the convenience of a widely used mobile operating system. Calling it the "Boeing phone", the device is slated to launch by the end of the year.

What business a company like Boeing has in hawking smartphones is unclear, but it has the market. Most of Boeing's current clients are in sectors where confidentiality and security is at a premium. Similar devices cost $15,000 to $20,000, but the Chicago based company plans to come in at a price point below that. Not something you or I could afford, mind you, but definitely more reasonable.

In an interview with National Defense Magazine, Boeing secure infrastructure group chief Brian Palma believes there will be significant interest in the defense, intelligence and even in the commercial sector. The company chose the Android operating system because it thinks clients want to use popular applications while keeping communications secure.

Palma may have not seen the latest news this week on the Android security front, though. Leviathan Security found that Android puts users at risk of having their information pilfered even if the application has no permissions to system resources. Then there's also the fact that Android is increasingly the target of malware as of late, and you have to wonder if Boeing really knows what it's getting into.

One company who might be disappointed by Boeing's announcement is Microsoft. The two companies have worked together closely over the years, and Boeing uses Microsoft's Windows Azure cloud computing platform in its manufacturing process. Could Windows Phone have provided the functionality the company desires? Probably, but it doesn't have the mass market reach of Android.

So now, if Boeing's making planes and smartphones, do we now need to worry about texting and flying. We already worry enough as it is about our pilots getting a bit too sloshed at the airport bar, but I do digress.

Photo Credit: Ilin Sergey/Shutterstock

The simple answer here is yes.

There has been much debate about the merits of the traditional Start Menu versus Metro's Start Screen since Windows 8 Developer Preview released last year. Microsoft did away with the Start Button in Windows 8, replacing it and the supporting menu with the Start Screen, which is primed for touch. Supporters, and that includes Microsoft, say it's better. But the argument that the "Start Screen can do everything the Start Menu can is the biggest BS to date.

The Start Screen can do roughly 98 percent of everything the Start Menu did. That missing 2 percent turns out to be a lot. The biggest flaw is being unable to customize the All Program List. You can't add, delete or rename subfolders. You’re not able to add, delete, move or rename shortcuts within the subfolder of the All Program Director Tree.

Another drawback: Start Screen consumes all the real estate. For some people this is a big issue, for others not. I don't have a problem with either because to me the Metro UI seems like a full-screen application. Microsoft sees it the other way around -- the desktop motif is another application and the Metro Start Screen is the hub of Windows 8.

Whether you love it or hate it, you too can have the best of both worlds: Start Menu + Start Screen, and there are really good reasons to have both. In the video above, I show you how. The photo below shows what you can expect.

Travis Boyko has worked with computers since he was 3 years old. While other children played with toys, he learned DOS commands. He has used every Windows version, as well as Linux, OS/2, OS X, Unix and Windows Server. His software collection goes back to the 1980s and includes original boxes of Windows 1.0, Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0, Lotus 1-2-3 and Windows 7 Signature Edition 32-bit and 64-bit full versions.

Not a day passes by without a couple infographics dropped in my inbox and somehow I just don't get around to posting them. My bad, since they can be fun and informative. Granted the producers hope for a little promotion along the way, but hey.

This one comes from BackgroundCheck.org, which blogs stuff like "8 Crazy Nannies Who Should’ve Been Background Checked" and "7 Things You Should Know Before Choosing a Babysitter" (Hey, whatever happened to 10 things?).

The infographic comes in cooperation with Lookout, which I confess makes a better-than "Find My iPhone" app for Android. Okay, have I plugged everyone? I'm only doing so feeling guilty for not posting some of their other infographics and because this is the first one. Besides I just had to get in the nanny and babysitter links (pay attention, parents).

I'm not going to repeat here much of anything from the infographic -- otherwise why post it? But I've got to wonder if there is any correlation between Manchester, England (where more phones are lost) and 9 pm and 2 am (when more handsets disappear).

Intel is putting more effort into their Atom CPU series, especially for the next generation of tablet computers. Along those lines, yesterday's Intel Studybook tablet is exciting. I really like the idea of this tablet. As the name implies, Studybook is a 7-inch tablet running Windows 7 or Android 3.x designed for students.

There is one challenge, though, and that is the Atom CPU, especially if such tablets use Windows instead of another operating system. So, is the Atom microprocessor up to the task?

The Three Hurdles of Windows Tablets

There are three basic hurdles when designing a tablet that will run the Windows operating system. Obviously power is an issue because battery life is vital to mobile devices. The choices made in things like the CPU, GPU (usually integrated into the CPU) and SSD can hugely impact battery life. The Atom CPU is designed specifically to use less power than its more powerful desktop cousins.

The second issue is the actual computing power of the CPU. There is no doubt the Atom CPU is not a powerhouse when compared to Intel desktop chips.

Lastly there is the SSD's capacity. Windows alone needs some room, just by itself, but today's Windows software tends to be bloated and resource hungry, so drive space can be a serious issue.

Is the Atom CPU Up to the Challenge?

I find the Atom to be quite powerful and a decent CPU and well suited to Windows tablets. The problem is not the microprocessor, but whether programmers are up to the task of writing efficient software for Windows tablets. Even Microsoft realizes the need to write software that performs better. Microsoft's Herb Sutter, in his talk "Why C++?", comments on the need to write software that has better performance.

This I can agree on. If software developers would concentrate more on writing software that is faster (better utilizes the CPU) and smaller (takes up less space on the valuable SSD), Windows tablets like Intel's Studybook can be a success.

Lessons from Old Timers

Today's programmers could learn something from the old timers who remember writing software on computers with less than 1MB of RAM, with floppy drives rather than huge hard drives and with CPUs that have 1/20th the computing power of the Atom microprocessor. Every computing cycle of the CPU mattered! Quality compilers which generated machine code that used less CPU cycles mattered. Code had to be efficient and well-written.

If you want to be able to write software well-suited to Windows tablets with Intel Atom and small SSDs, then to quote Herb Sutter, "the free lunch is over". We need to get back to the ways of early programming. Maybe we need to start counting CPU cycles again. Maybe we need to reconsider how (and what languages) we write our software.

Is It Possible to write Faster, Smaller Software?

Absolutely! Now, I am not a C++ programmer (nor do I use any Microsoft languages) so I can't speak for the mainstream developers today, but I do know for sure that one can write such software. I deal regularly with a community of programmers who jokingly talk about "being able to write software which can fit on a floppy disk" (see: [powerbasic.com]) . We use a compiler made by a company with the motto of "smaller, faster" and writing software for a tablet computer with an Atom processor and a small SSD is no problem at all.

Can Software Really Be That Small in Size and Still Be Powerful?

Absolutely! There are a number of programming languages capable of producing smaller, faster applications (please post about your favorite in comments). I can only speak about what I am familiar with though and that is PowerBasic. I design GUI tools for PowerBasic programmers and the one thing I have concentrated on is to keep the software as fast as possible, but still small in size.

My first generation GUI engine was a DLL that was 122 KB in size. I thought that was large at the time, over 10 years ago. A decade later, it has grown but the increased size does match all the new features it handles. The point: It is possible to write software that is tiny in comparison to much of today's software.

Software can be written so it runs fast, even on the lowly Atom. If a programmer's software runs poorly on tablets like Intel's Studybook, it's not the tablet's fault. As software developers we all need to start thinking in terms of "smaller, faster". If we do, then the experience on the next generation of Windows tablets, will definitely be "fast and fluid", even with desktop applications.

Metro, in the coming Windows 8, may be a nice new UI interface, especially designed for touch, but it won't guarantee the "fast and fluid" experience Microsoft would like to see, unless programmers do a better job in writing software.

I will be writing software for the Windows desktop, rather than Metro, and I have little doubt that it is possible to write "fast and fluid" software, with a small footprint, that will run exceptionally well on both Windows 7 today and Windows 8 tomorrow.

Photo Credit: Intel

Chris Boss is an advanced Windows API programmer and developer of 10 year-old EZGUI, which is now version 5. He owns The Computer Workshop, which opened for businesses in the late 1980s. He originally developed custom software for local businesses. Now he develops programming tools for use with the PowerBasic compiler.

Diagram creation software can be on the expensive side, just take a look at Visio, for instance, but if that’s a problem for you then there are some great free tools around. And Dia is one of the best.

The program may open with a standard list of flowcharting shapes, for instance, but it also provides plenty of other symbol libraries. Just choose the one you need and you’ll be able to draw logic diagrams, electrical circuits, networks, databases, simple maps and much more.

If you’ve ever used a similar program then the process of creating the chart itself will seem very familiar. You’ll start by dragging and dropping shapes onto the page, resizing and repositioning them to suit your needs. Add text as appropriate, use lines to link them up: it’s all quite straightforward.

There’s also plenty of power on offer here, though. So if you’re working with a very large diagram then you can separate it into layers. Multiple alignment options help to keep everything looking neat; symbols can be grouped together and moved as a block; and every aspect of the chart – colours, fonts, line widths, styles and more – can be tweaked in seconds.

And once you’ve finished you can export your masterpiece in a lengthy list of formats, including JPG, PNG, PS/ EPS, DXF, PDF, EMF, WMF, TEX and more.

There are also a few issues here which may be a problem for some people. As with most other diagramming tools, for instance, Dia can’t use or create Visio’s VSD files (the format is proprietary). There are usually workarounds, though -- in this case, Dia can read and write Visio’s XML format (VDX) -- and on balance the program is still an exceptionally capable charting program.

Amazon set its sights on Google Thursday by introducing CloudSearch, a feature that allows customers of its Amazon Web Services offering to implement search capabilities to their websites. The technology behind CloudSearch is the same that Amazon uses on its retail site.

Access is billed based on the number of running search instances, anywhere from 12 cents to 98 cents per hour, with a 98 cent per gigabyte charge for the storage of search data. Running continuously, the search functionality could cost as little as $90 per month, and in some cases a cheaper alternative to Google's Site Search offering.

Google charges by the query on an annual basis. 20,000 queries a year will cost $100 annually, but this increases to $2,000 per year for 500,000 queries. For sites with a good deal of internal search traffic CloudSearch seems a more cost-effective option, although smaller sites will find Google Site Search a better deal.

"Amazon CloudSearch will have democratization effect as it offers features that have been out of reach for many customers", chief technology officer Werner Vogels says. "It will allow developers to improve functionality of their products, at lower costs with almost zero administration".

Amazon aims to make CloudSearch easy to implement and use. Vogels points out that setup is as simple as creating the search domain, uploading the data it would like to be searchable, and begin querying the database. Additional data can be uploaded through the AWS console, or by sending their own HTTP POST requests to the upload endpoint. Google uses a sitemap to control what is indexed through its search offering.

"You don't have to write your own indexing, query parsing, query processing, results handling, or any of that other stuff," AWS evangelist Jeff Barr explains. "You don't need to worry about running out of disk space or processing power, and you don't need to keep rewriting your code to add more features".

Of course, you need to be hosting your site on Amazon's cloud platform in order to take advantage of its search platform -- Google's solution allows you to maintain your own hosting. That said, two major AWS customers are already using CloudSearch in its applications, including photo-sharing site SmugMug and music site ex.fm.

"Each day, ex.fm users add more than a hundred thousand new song links to the platform", ex.fm chief technology officer Lucas Hrabovsky says. "With a small team of engineers, we can't afford to dedicate resources to manage our search infrastructure". Hrabovsky says the company has gotten positive feedback since the switch to CloudSearch and users note improved search speed and accuracy.

Photo Credit: Quackdesigns/Shutterstock

In the realm of security, there are a number of discussions that never seem to be completely resolved and crop up again from time to time. One of these is the age old question: “Is antivirus really necessary”?

To the average PC user, the idea that antivirus (or more accurately, anti-malware) isn’t necessary may seem as crazy and dangerous as suggesting we get rid of seatbelts in cars (let alone keep airbags, antilock brakes and other safety features). For years, PC users have been told to “protect your PC” by running antivirus and keeping it and the system constantly up-to-date. Microsoft made these steps the foundation for its guidance to customers in the wake of the Slammer and Blaster worms in 2003 and that advice took root, helping to better protect PC users since then.

Now More Than Ever

Anti-malware is such a key part of PC computing that Microsoft has integrated anti-malware support ever more deeply into the operating system over the past few years. The company started with the Windows Security Center in Windows Vista, which warned if you weren’t running up-to-date anti-malware. Since 2011, Microsoft has offered a free antivirus solution, Microsoft Security Essentials, to Windows users. And Microsoft has indicated that they plan to include anti-malware capability integrated into Windows 8.

At this point, even if you wanted to run Windows on your PC without anti-malware, the hassle of disabling notifications and warnings plus the availability of a free solution with Microsoft Security Essentials makes downloading and running that the path of least resistance. You would be hard pressed to find someone completely anti-malware free on a modern version of Windows.

But the world isn’t what it was and as more and more people connect to the Internet using something other than a PC running Windows, the age old question is coming up again: Do I really need anti-malware?

As someone with a long history in security, I can say that the answer to this is not only “Yes”, but also “more than ever”.

Two Arguments Against

There are really just two arguments that people make against running anti-malware:

• First, that malware is really only a problem with Windows and that’s because of Windows’ fundamental security design flaws.
• Second, that malware is a fabricated problem, hyped by security companies who are trying to scare you and convince you to buy their products.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say here that I was part of Microsoft’s Security group for about ten years. And now, as a consultant, I do work with other security companies in the industry. But my views are my own and it’s my view that facts on the ground refute both of these arguments.

Flawed Windows argument. The argument that the presence of malware somehow indicates an inherently insecure platform and so shouldn’t be a problem on a properly secure one is a logical fallacy. It’s not helped that this point is sometimes made by platform vendors to talk up the security of their products (as Jim Allchin once infamously did regarding Windows Vista, claiming he didn’t need antivirus on his kid’s system).

Any security person worth his or her salt will say that, ultimately, code is code. On any system that’s designed to be extensible (i.e. that you can load new programs and applications on), there’s an inherent risk for what we would call “malware” because code that is “bad” to us (hence “malware”) is neutral to the system that executes it.

Where secure design does play an important role is in limiting and preventing “bad” code access to the system and limiting the scope of actions code can take as much as possible. At most, one can say that a more secure platform creates a higher barrier to attack that deters attackers and drives them elsewhere. Think of it as the “you don’t have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the other guy rule”.

This hasn’t prevented vendors and advocates for other platforms in the past from pointing at the disparity in malware and attacks on Windows and other platforms as “proof” malware is a Windows problem due to poor design. But, the changing world is proving that stance wrong. With successful Mac-based botnets like Flashback, increasing numbers of malicious Android apps, and even some dual-platform Windows and Mac attacks it’s clear that the threat environment is responding to a more diverse world with more diverse targeting and attacks. There’s more than one bear now, and it doesn’t matter who runs faster.

Hyped malware treatise. The argument that malware is a hyped problem is a more nuanced one. The argument got its strongest start back in the early days of 1988 with Rob Rosenberger’s "Computer Virus Myths treatise". Rosenberger made some valid points (and his “False Authority Syndrome” is still a good read). The pressures of the marketplace can and do encourage security firms to talk up threats sometimes to the point of hype. But a look at any week’s online security news shows that incidents like the Global Payments breach do happen with frightening regularity.

The growth of the Internet over the past fifteen or so years has moved a lot of the targets of criminal activity and espionage (state and corporate) from the physical world to the online world. That’s fundamentally changed the malware game. Before, viruses were nuisances that destroyed data and created havoc on stand-alone and network-connected systems (mainly PCs). Today, malware seeks to gain data that is lucrative (either financially or in terms of intelligence) by attacking the point at which users connect to the global Internet (desktops, mobile phone, tablets). In a way, it’s hard to hype the nature of the threat environment these days: the facts themselves put the threat nearly at maximum.

Rosenberger’s points are important: everyone should think for themselves and make their own decisions around threats. But the realities of the threats online today coupled with the way bad actors are responding to a more diverse client base with an equally diverse set of attacks means that no one is truly safe anymore (though it’s arguable if anyone ever really was).

Anti-malware is an inherently reactive countermeasure, yes. And it’s not a silver bullet. But it is a critical layer in a multifaceted approach to meeting the threats that are out there. In a way, heeding the claims of those who say “you don’t need anti-malware on my platform” is falling victim to another type of “False Authority Syndrome”.

Photo Credit: olly/Shutterstock

Christopher Budd is a 10-year veteran of Microsoft, where he oversaw and managed communications around online security and privacy incidents. He left the company in December 2010. Today he is an independent consultant using his experience to help clients in the areas of crisis communications, online security and privacy incidents and social media.

It’s the biggest product launch of the year so far for Windows Phone and Nokia. The Lumia 900 went on sale April 8th and early reports suggest that sales are better than expected. They're nothing stellar but nevertheless some good news for a platform struggling to gain market share.

Earlier this week, I convinced my mother to purchase her first Windows Phone, the Cyan Lumia 900. Later that afternoon, I learned of a serious software bug causing devices to literally lose their data connections --an essential feature for any smartphone. So admittedly, I was pretty concerned. It turns out, I didn’t need to be.

Nokia quickly responded by apologizing and offering a $100 credit for the troubles caused to Lumia users. One of the most anticipated smartphones of the year suffers a major software glitch at product launch. As bad as that is, Nokia did the right thing. So why is the Apple-loving press saying otherwise?

It’s simple. They’re jealous. When an Apple product suffers a software glitch Apple doesn’t usually respond as if they follow a “customer first” policy. I find that unacceptable for a company that prides itself on producing high-end luxury consumer products. We expect more from the BMW and Porche brands of the world when it comes to customer satisfaction.

Living in Denial

While I’m certainly not an Apple fan, I have given them lots of my hard-earned cash over the past few years and many of you have as well. But am I the only one who finds their passive aggressive behavior in responding to product glitches utterly pathetic? I sure hope not.

How did Apple respond when iPhone 4 had antenna issues? CEO Steve Jobs rebuffed one customer: "Just avoid holding it that way", referring to the typical way most people might grip a phone. Only after weeks of criticism, did Apple respond, by staging an elaborate event to show that they’re not the only ones with the problem and to offer a cheap plastic band-aid covering up the problem. As customers who pay premium pricing for a product made out of glass (think about that), did they really think that’s what we wanted?

Remember, Apple ignored the problem for weeks. Nokia responded immediately -- within hours. Buyers get $100 back, or a replacement phone if they want. A software update to fix the bug is expected in a few days. How did Nokia position its response: "Putting people first".

Remember the malware outbreak last year that infected many Macs? Apple largely ignored their users and initially did nothing to help those who called customer support. The situation with the current Flashback botnet has a lot of similarities. Once again, Apple's silence is deafening.

When you charge high prices for well-made products, it is simply inexcusable for you to ignore customers and act like nothing has happened. Although Apple is addressing the issue, they’re not communicating that to customers. The only possible explanation for this is that they want to save themselves from embarrassment because they spent the last 8 years telling everyone Macs don’t have security problems.

Apple-loving Press Bias

Back to the Lumia. Reading articles from the Apple press about the Lumia glitch, and the various Lumia reviews infuriated me because of the amazing amount of inconsistency. One writer suggested that Microsoft should give up and exit the smartphone race and Nokia should switch to Android. Another suggested that since Windows Phone was on version two, there is no excuse for it lacking certain features Android and iPhone have. This writer gave the Lumia a low review rating.

Apple releases a premium product in the iPad to the masses and suddenly reports appear of heating issues and connectivity problems. What is Apple’s response to the heating problem? “It’s by design”. WOW. The connectivity problem is particularly interesting because it also existed when the iPad 2 was released. Apple had a year to fix this -- and they still cannot seem to get it right? Yet, they charge premium prices for these devices. When customers report problems, if Apple doesn’t ignore them, their responses are usually just as worthless. For a company that prides itself on customer support, I find this utterly sickening.

If Microsoft does not get a pass on Windows Phone, or Nokia on Lumia 900, then neither should a company that sells premium products. Apple should be held to a much higher standard. Unfortunately we cannot expect a press that is largely in Apple’s hip pocket to be this responsible.

The bottom line is, Microsoft and Nokia have shown how important Windows Phone users are to their success as a company and they responded in kind. The criticism of their efforts this week is ridiculous. The only logical explanation for it is pure jealousy: “I wish Apple would treat us like that!” Apple fans, spin it however you want to, but remember this: $100 is a way better response than “You’re holding it wrong”.

Photo Credit: Nokia

Robert Johnson is a user interface developer specializing in the user experience (UX) of .NET-based web applications. He has been working in some form of web development and graphic design for 14 years. He loves technology in general, particularly that of Apple, Google and Microsoft. He is a Betanews reader.

You don’t need something to hide to have something to hide. Whether you share your computer with others, or your machine is situated somewhere that other people may be able to access it, there’s a high chance that it has files stored on it that you would like to keep private. Documents relating to personal and financial issues are the sorts of files that should be kept away from unauthorized eyes, and Wise Folder Hider Beta is a free tool that makes it easy to do just that.

There are various ways in which you can make sensitive files more difficult to access, but this handy security tool helps to make things as simple as possible. Protecting the files you would rather other people were not able to see take little more than signing into the program account you have created and then dragging and dropping the relevant files and folders onto the program interface -- this can be done on an individual basis, or you can choose to hide a whole bunch in one go.

The files and folders you select will be completely hidden from view until you access the program and opt to make them visible again. For extra protection, you can also choose to add a password to your hidden files in case you step away from your computer and forget to lock your hidden files. The fact that there is support for user accounts opens up the possibility of every user of a single computer working in the same Windows user account while still retaining the ability to keep their own documents private.

Wise Folder Hider Beta can also be used to prevent unauthorized access to any USB drives you have attached to your computer. In just the same way as for files and folders, you can choose to make a particular drive invisible. By taking this simple step, you make it much more difficult for someone else to access the data stored on the drive, or to use it to store their own personal documents. The program is currently in beta, but it seems stable and reliable – and it’s completely free of charge.

You can find out more by paying a visit to the Wise Folder Hider Beta review page.

Photo Credit: Kheng Guan Toh/Shutterstock

If you believe your PC has been infected by malware then you’ll probably try to launch Task Manager in an effort to find out more. But of course malware authors are well aware of this, and in some cases they’ll try to protect themselves by disabling Task Manager and similar tools.

As long as you can launch Excel 2010, though, you do have another option in Didier Steven’s TaskManager.xls. It’s a basic Task Manager alternative in a spreadsheet, which not only lists the processes running on your PC, but also enables you to close or suspend any that you don’t need.

Just open the spreadsheet and it’ll display a list of running processes along with their details (name, file name, process ID, time of launch, user account, memory use and, on 64-bit systems, whether it’s 32 or 64-bit). This doesn’t update dynamically, but clicking “List Processes” when required will refresh the display.

If you’re sure you’ve identified a malicious process then you can flag it for termination or suspension by entering a t or s in the Command column at its left. If there are several dubious processes then just enter more commands, clicking “Execute Commands” when you’re happy to close or suspend them all at once. (And that’s actually better than Task Manager, which can only close one process at a time.) Use the R command later to resume a process if you’re sure it’s safe.

TaskManager.xls is fairly basic, then. And if you’re concerned about Task Manager being disabled then you’ll probably be better off downloading several alternatives, “just in case” (malware is most unlikely to be able to block them all). It’s an interesting idea, though, and if for some reason you don’t have anything else available then the program does provide everything you need to view and disable problem processes.

Photo Credit: Phil Holmes/Shutterstock

Well, if fourth quarter PC shipments were bad (and they were), Q1 was not so bad, according to preliminary data Gartner and IDC released today. Woohoo, break out the sparklers, IDC put year-over-year growth at 2.3 percent, but only 1.9 percent by Gartner's estimates. Somebody cue up "Nearer My God To Thee", because the Titanic tragedy's centennial anniversary feels timely. Is the PC market suddenly sinking?

IDC already called 2011 the worst year for PCs since 2001, when recession robbed manufacturers and retailers of Christmas and set off a chain of profit warnings, including Apple and Microsoft. There are no profit warnings this time around, just plenty of misery. Well, unless your business is selling so-called Post-PC devices, like smartphones and tablets.

Microsoft and Windows OEMs can no longer blame the hard drive shortage, which had a "limited impact on PC supply", Mikako Kitagawa, Gartner principal analyst, says. Limited means select segments, such as low-cost notebooks, which didn't sell well anyway.

"The consumer segment continued to be a drag on market growth, as PC demand was low", Kitagawa says. "Questions remain on whether low-end systems can attract consumers, as their attention has moved to other devices". Reiterating previous observations, Gartner again highlighted smartphones and tablets as leaders among those "other devices".

"Slow growth in the US shows that despite interesting and new form factors like all-in-one (AIO) desktop PCs and Ultrabook-class notebook PCs, the market remains conservative and focused on replacements", Loren Loverde, IDC vice president, says. Replacements don't just refer to necessary PC upgrades but tablets being used to supplement existing PCs. The devices replace behavior rather than the older computer.

Still, both analysts expressed optimism for the holidays -- and, whoa, if they're wrong the Good Ship PC really could join Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic. "We expect PC shipments to pick up significantly by the fourth quarter and beyond as HDD supply and pricing are normalized, Windows 8 is launched, and replacements pick up", Loverde says. But "the US PC market is likely to remain constrained at least until the launch of Windows 8, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2012".

Kitagawa isn't as optimistic:

The first quarter of 2012 was a transitional period as the PC industry is awaiting two big releases: Intel's Ivy Bridge and Microsoft's Windows 8. Both are expected to be launched this year. Although these new releases are not expected to stimulate demand as much as the industry hopes, they will affect PC supply so that there will be artificial supply control before and after the product releases. There will be few products rolled out into the market until these major releases have taken place.

Looking at the hard numbers, global PC shipments reached 87.1 million units in first quarter, according to IDC and 89 million by Gartner's reckoning. IDC says US PC shipments grew 1 percent year over year to 16.57 million. Gartner: Shipments fell 3.5 percent to 15.5 million. There's big disparity in those numbers. Well, there are reasons why they're called preliminary.

US share leaders: HP, Dell and Apple. HP share was 28 percent, according to IDC and 29 percent according to Gartner. Dell: 21.7 percent and 22.3 percent, respectively. IDC put Apple market share at 10 percent and Gartner at 10.6 percent.

Attorneys General in 16 states filed suit against Apple and three publishing companies Wednesday, following a similar suit filed this morning by the US Justice Department. Unlike the federal suit, the states action also looks for monetary compensation in addition to the end of the collusive agreements between Apple and the publishers.

Connecticut and Texas lead the action, and are joined by Attorneys General in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont and West Virginia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

The states' suit names Apple as well as publishers Macmillan, Penguin Group USA, and Simon & Schuster. Hachette and HarperCollins are settling out of court, says Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, and will pay a combined $52 million in restitution.

"Publishers deserve to make money, but consumers deserve the price benefits of competition in an open and unrestricted marketplace", Jepsen says. "Those interests clearly collided in this case and we are going to work to ensure the eBook market is open once again to fair competition".

In the federal case, Hachette and HarperCollins settled almost immediately after the suit was announced, as did Simon & Schuster. Why Simon & Schuster did not settle with the states is unknown, but it very well could have to do with the monetary demand in addition to the move away from the so-called "agency pricing" model put in place by Apple's deals.

Apple is in trouble, that is now clear. Like the antitrust case built against Microsoft in the 1990s, the Cupertino, Calif. company faces a several-pronged assault from users, the federal government, and the states. Microsoft decided to fight the allegations against it, and lost.

With ebooks such a small portion of Apple's business when it comes to the iOS platform, is it really worth spending what could be millions to defend a contract with shaky legal basis? Experts agree that publishers are within their rights to have some control over the pricing of content. Apple does not have the right to dictate what that price may be though, or prevent competitors from undercutting its pricing.

That's where Apple went wrong, according to noted antitrust lawyer William Markham. The company saw Amazon in the rearview mirror, panicked, and made a legally questionable move as a result.

"Amazon poses a threat to Apple’s entire business model, its iPad line of products in particular, and its interest in making profits from selling ebooks", Markham told me last month. "Indeed, Apple explicitly wants to make profits by inducing prospective customers to purchase iPads and commit themselves by contract to its closed world of available ebooks, and Amazon stands between Apple and this profitable ambition".

Consumers were overcharged $100 million as a result of the price fixing, the suit claims. These attorneys general are not satisfied with the Justice Department's effort to control the ebook marketplace for five years to prevent collusion. They feel this profit was illicitly gained, and should be forfeited.

Apple gains nothing by standing its ground. Raising the white flag now and paying up will be far less expensive than fighting. Remember back to my piece last month where I showed that Apple has already admitted to the key allegations in the case. Apple said this in a legal filing:

It would make perfect sense as a rational and competitive business strategy for Apple not to enter as a retailer incurring losses, but instead as an agent on commission with a competitive offering – which is exactly what the agency agreements negotiated by Apple accomplished.

Is the ebook industry important enough for Apple to lose its head? I think not. The company makes far more money from other iTunes content. Ebooks, while a source of significant revenue when it comes to digital content, is nowhere near the revenues from music and video. I fail to see how the iBookstore will really mean that much in the end to Apple's bottom line.

Apple stands to lose far more by playing a game of Russian roulette with federal regulators. This isn't a battle worth fighting, and it is time to walk away before the damage is worse.

Photo Credit: Carsten Reisinger/Shutterstock

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People have too much time to waste, and I'm not one of them. But occasionally I have fun and write about others goofing off. Waste away, baby, because today's Google+ redesign has generated strange reaction to a sudden amount of white space to the right of the friend feed. People are posting with hashtag #whitespace.

Google Plusers are finding all kinds of uses for that white space, which brings new meaning to making something out of nothing. It's fascinating watching the white space viral geekfest. I must live in an alternate universe, because it's just white to me. Or perhaps I lack any real sense of creative humor (don't comment on that!). Anyway, I've grabbed 15 photos from Google+ -- all credited, but none taken with any permission first (hey, they were shared publicly).

Jonathan Chalker wins my vote for best #whitespace meme contribution, with this fako news story:

Google Acquires WhiteSpace For $120M

In a surprise move perhaps intended to counter Facebook's acquisition of Instagram, Google has purchased a little known app company, WhiteSpace, which cleverly adds large, random pockets of white space to any interface.

When asked why WhiteSpace posed an interest, David Lawee, Head of Google's Business Development team responded:

"There are synergies here, the scale of which we don't yet fully understand. The color white, to Google, is like air. WhiteSpace is like air in outer space and everyone agrees it would be cool if there was more air in outer space. It is equally as cool to have more white in our space".

Lawee refused to speculate as to whether WhiteSpace would be added to their new Google Glasses interface.

What would you do with all that white space?

Some really strange stuff (I want to use the other "s" word, but content filters) comes into the BetaNews Tips box. I'm paying more attention to what's in it this week, given my 7-day Google Reader fast. Weirdness knows no bounds, nor my perplexity to embrace and share it. I swear to debating for 10 minutes about sharing this video. It's strange. Topical. From a vlogger with 26,664 subscribers (now I'm one of them). And, sheepishly confess, made me laugh.

Hell, I even liked the text of the email before the video link and made it the headline. If Instagram is worth one billion bucks... You got me Khyan Mansley. Commenters don't be cruel.

Just as Facebook forces users to adopt a more cluttered, confusing appearance, Google+ simplifies and provides social networkers more control over the layout. Much as I've tried to use Facebook more, because that's where my family hangs out, Google+ is inescapable. It's a gravity well too strong to resist. For 170 million, the number of users Google revealed today, Plus perhaps is irresistible, too. That's a lot of people for a service less than a year old.

Google+ is more than a social network. It is the future of Google. Like it or not, the company has embarked on a strategy around social search, and Plus is a pillar. Competing against Facebook clearly is one of Google's goals. But there also is realistic appraisal that social is the web's future -- and why shouldn't it be with gregarious humans? Additionally, Google+ is the sun around which the company's other products will revolve -- even search -- defining a digital lifestyle empowering connections, communications and commerce.

The New Social

I strongly encourage anyone trying to understand this concept to closely read Vic Gundotra's blog post about Google+ changes. The vice president of engineering writes:

We're more excited than ever to build a seamless social experience, all across Google. A critical piece of this social layer is a design that grows alongside our aspirations. So today we’re introducing a more functional and flexible version of Google+. We think you’ll find it easier to use and nicer to look at, but most importantly, it accelerates our efforts to create a simpler, more beautiful Google.

This isn't marketing gobbledygook. Gundotra's theme is consistent with past statements and Google's actions building out Plus. Stand-outs: "grows alongside our aspirations" and "create a simpler, more beautiful Google". He doesn't write about creating a more beautiful Google+, but Google. The whole shebang. Page and company are reinventing Google. Make no mistake about their "aspirations".

Plus Your World

Services like +1, Search Plus Your World and, of course, Google+ are part of this transformation in progress. Two weeks ago in post "Google, there's no good 'without doing evil'", I reviewed the colossal amount of cross-product and service integration taking place over the last year. Search anchors the integration effort, but its role changes as social creeps into everything Google does, with G+ and Search Plus Your World as key pillars.

In that post, I asked readers: "Does all this newfangled integration -- Android, Chrome, Google+, +1, search and other services benefit you?" I'll answer yes before anyone else, particularly how search now lets me tap into social when looking for something or answers to questions.

I'm not alone. "I love the integration of Google products", John Thomas comments. "Things just keep getting better. I worry about Google's dominance, but that dominance has come through providing amazingly useful services for a great price -- free. I'm happy to share my browsing history with Google. It's very useful to me to find places I've been and it helps Google fund their amazing services".

"The integration benefits me a lot", Ismail Hammoud agrees.

Renovation Row

I started writing this post early morning, then had to shelve it to report the Justice Department's lawsuit against Apple and five publishers. When Gundotra announced Google+ changes, I didn't have them. Now I do, and they impress.

There isn't as much generous white space as before, but Google+ still is largely uncluttered. Facebook looks like a horder's house, by comparison. Google moved the top menu bar -- Navigation Ribbon -- to the left, which isn't my preferred location. But I can live with it. My eye tends to gravitate up, but when reading posts in the flow there's sense to having the menu bar with them. Nicety: The apps on the Navigation Ribbon can be dragged to the order you prefer. There are pop-up options behind some of the menu bar apps, too.

Gundotra highlights other changes:

Once you’ve upgraded to Google+, it’s easy to share with your circles from just about anywhere. We’re dreaming bigger, though. We're aiming for an experience that fuses utility with beauty—one that inspires you to connect with others, and cherish the conversations that unfold. Today’s update is an important step in this direction, including:

• Full bleed photos and videos that'll make you really proud to post
• A stream of conversation 'cards' that make it easier to scan and join discussions
• An activity drawer that highlights the community around your content

Better Place to Be?

From my perspective, the most startling and important changes are two: Trending topics and revamped Hangouts page. There are now trending topics visibly placed on your main G+ page and even more under the "Explore" button, where Google finally succumbs to clutter creep -- lots of it. Hangouts is busier still, but, whoa, what a place now to discover new folks to video chat with. Trash the TV, baby, and light up the webcam.

The two areas share common theme: Increasing interaction around interests or people that matter most to you.

Circling back to where I started, Google's reinvention is all about cross-product integration with search and social as core. Gundotra writes:

By focusing on you, the people you care about, and the stuff you’re into, we’re going to continue upgrading all the features you already know and love -- from Search and Maps to Gmail and YouTube. With today’s foundational changes we can move even faster -- toward a simpler, more beautiful Google.

Sorry, Vic, but I'm struggling with my nerd stereotypes. Can a geek hangout really be beautiful or are you just putting lipstick on a pig?

Bare Bones Software has released TextWrangler 4.0, a major new version of its free OS X text-editing tool. TextWrangler offers both basic text-editing capabilities for general users as well as a number of powerful tools for programmers and system administrators.

TextWrangler 4.0 introduces a major new streamlined editing window for simplifying access to all open documents, plus automatically reloads all previously open documents when relaunched. It also introduces switchable syntax color schemes.

Version 4.0 now supports both full-screen mode and any-edge window resizing in OS X Lion to accompany its major redesign. Not only is the editing window revamped, the Preferences and Setup windows are redesigned too, along with a streamlined filtering and automation interface.

When launched, all previously open documents are automatically restored in TextWrangler 4.0, including any unsaved documents. Switching between open documents is made simple thanks to version 4.0’s new Currently Open Documents pane, which sits to the left of the main editing window. A Recent Documents pane also makes it easy to reload recently closed documents.

Customizing TextWrangler has also been simplified thanks to the redesigned Preferences window, which provides 11 Preferences panes including Appearance, Text Colors and Menus & Shortcuts. The Preferences window, along with the redesigned Setup window for managing bookmarks to FTP/SFTP sites, grep patterns and file filters, are accessible from the main TextWrangler menu.

The process of simplifying and streamlining is also found in the new modeless “Open File by Name” feature, which allows users to type in the name of the file instead of browsing for it manually.

Programmers will be pleased to see switchable syntax colour schemes, support for Verilog and VHDL, plus the added ability for TextWrangler to treat Automator, AppleScript and Unix scripts as co-equal, allowing all to be used as text filters as well as being run directly as scripts.

TextWrangler 4.0 is available now as a freeware download for Mac users running OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later.

Photo Credit: Lincoln Rogers/Shutterstock

In December 2010 I asked: "Is someone fixing ebook prices?" Google's digital bookstore opened for business, and I started comparing prices only to find them fairly consistent across all retailers. I expected to see huge variances, not pricing consistency, which shouldn't be in a competitive market but is systematic of one where businesses conspire to "fix" prices.

I wasn't alone wondering about this abnormal consistency. After weeks of rumors, today, the US Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Apple and five publishers. The antitrust enforcement agency accuses them of colluding to fix ebook prices, thus impeding competition and, more importantly, consumer choice.

The lawsuit names five publishers: Hachette SA, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster. However, Bloomberg reports that three of the publishers already have settled with the Justice Department. As previously reported by BetaNews, MacMillan and Penguin, along with Apple, refused.

Causing Consumers Harm

There are few areas of US antitrust law that is more clear or so aggressively enforced as price fixing. Unlike Europe, where trustbusters focus a bit more on protecting competitors, US priority is the consumer. The 1890 Sherman Act and the court precedents following it allow for aggressive competition -- some really rough play. But what's fair among competitors is a problem when they collude in ways that diminish competition at the expense of consumers.

US Antitrust law looks harshly on price fixing, because it causes harm to consumers. They don't receive the benefits, lower pricing among them, of companies vying for the same customers.

I wrote 16 months ago about ebooks:

Nearly uniform pricing is highly suspicious. Brick-and-mortar retailer book pricing does vary more, depending on initial discount, volume of inventory to sell (or unload if too many) and time on shelf, among many other factors. Remember: Ebooks don't grow old on the shelf. Retailers can't over-order or be compelled to offer overstock deals.

In looking at these four ebookstores, pricing is too similar. It stinks of publishers demanding prices be such and such to grant distribution. It wasn't that many months ago, that in a disagreement with publishers Amazon was forced to raise ebook prices and adopt an agency sales model. I have to wonder: Are major publishers fixing prices?

Conspiracy Theory

The Justice Department answers yes and says that Apple helped them. Before Apple opened iBookstore, Amazon sold many ebooks at a loss, to gain market share. Had Amazon been allowed to continue, consumer demand surely would have compelled publishers to lower prices. Amazon typically sold new ebooks for $9.99.

During negotiations for iBookstore, Apple pushed for an "Agency" revenue-sharing model. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company would take a 30-percent cut and sell books at prices dictated by publishers. Amazon got into a scuffle with several publishers, leading to threats of withholding books. The retailer ended up adopting the Agency model, thus raising prices to match Apple's. That's reverse of how competition works -- one company lowering prices to match another's.

Before today's criminal filing, a civil case was underway. There, in a legal filing, Apple strangely admitted to collusion: "Apple knew that if Amazon were allowed to continue to solidify its position in the ebook market, these network effects would make it nearly impossible for Apple to dislodge Amazon in the near term".

More: "It would make perfect sense as a rational and competitive business strategy for Apple not to enter as a retailer incurring losses, but instead as an agent on commission with a competitive offering – which is exactly what the agency agreements negotiated by Apple accomplished".

Based on the civil case, San Diego-based antitrust attorney William Markham tells my colleague Ed Oswald that the behavior of Apple and publishers "easily meets the standard for stating actionable antitrust claims". He adds:

By this conspiracy they have apparently raised and fixed the prices of ebooks so as to preserve Apple’s sales of iPads, improve its share of sales of ebooks, allow the old publishers a few more years to exact profits that their own honest services can no longer produce, and harm the fortunes and progress of the new Walmart of our era, Amazon.

Bad, But Worse

Collusion is much bigger than single-title pricing. Publishers also demand onerous digital rights mechanisms that defy fair use-laws permitting people to share print books. Ebook sharing is limited at best and rights often are confined to a single user account. That's a secondary form of price fixing, since it compels even members of the same household to buy more than one title when using separate accounts on different devices. I can read Kindle books on any device running Amazon's software, but rights restrictions limit or prevent sharing the titles with my wife and daughter on their separate accounts.

In a competitive market, particularly a growth one, competition should loosen rights. That's what happened with digital music, where DRM ruled early on but today is all but gone. Consumers benefit from the ability to share music within a household. Ebook publishers generally grant no such rights.

I've warned several times that Apple policies regarding publishers would likely lead to antitrust problems:

• "iPad is a devil's deal for publishers", February 2011
• "Apple App Store subscription plan gouges publishers, eats their young", February 2011
• "Apple intimidation drives developer innovation", August 2011

But there is another policy that suddenly makes sense in context of today's lawsuit: Apple's iBooks Author EULA. The company unveiled the software in January with surprisingly restrictive terms. Simply stated: If you publish ebooks using iBooks Author, no other publisher but Apple can profit. Distribution anywhere else must be for free. Authors can only charge money at iBookstore.

The onerous terms didn't make much sense, since they might detract some people from using the software to create ebooks. Now they do, or so I conjecture. Apple must have known what was going on before anything leaked about the Justice Department ebook pricing investigation. Apple knew if the Justice Department filed a case, and anyone settled, it would lose control of favorable pricing terms, allowing Amazon to undercut prices. So in making a compelling publishing tool, Apple also placed restrictions favoring distribution through its ebookstore. The EULA was a pre-emptive strike.

I proposed this idea to Ed Oswald last week, since he leads our ebook price-fixing reporting. He answers that Apple is "threatening to shut the whole damn thing down if that happens".

My response in group chat: "But Apple won't because of education market. For many obvious reasons. Core market. Nab the youth young. Sell more Macs, since tools require OS X. Besides, people pay more for Macs. They'll pay more for ebooks, too. Customer loyalty to the brand, for starters and what publishers can add to the books beyond text".

Ebooks are serious business to Apple, because they can help sell more iPads and, via the authoring tool, more Macs. There's your reason for Apple colluding with publishers and fighting the Justice Department's case.

Photo Credit: JustASC/Shutterstock

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia on Wednesday issued an update on its financial performance for the first quarter of 2012, and lowered its outlook for the devices and services category, citing a few negative factors it is currently encountering.

Nokia's Lumia series, christened by the Lumia 800 which launched in November in Europe, and the Lumia 710 which launched in the US in December, has been performing quite well so far. Nokia says it sold more than 2 million Lumia devices since November at an average price of EUR 220. With the popularity of these devices steadily rising, Nokia says it is seeing sequential growth in Lumia sales.

However, net sales in both its traditional mobile phone and smartphone business units in India, the Middle East/Africa, and China are down, and there are gross margin declines affecting Nokia's take, particularly in the Smart Devices business unit. These are the main negative factors Nokia sees for the first quarter.

Nokia currently estimates that its Devices & Services net sales in Q1 2012 were EUR 4.2 billion, comprised of net mobile phone sales of EUR 2.3 billion (71 million units), smartphone net sales of EUR 1.7 billion (12 million units), and Devices & Services/Other net sales of EUR 0.2 billion.

"Our disappointing Devices & Services first quarter 2012 financial results and outlook for the second quarter 2012 illustrates that our Devices & Services business continues to be in the midst of transition," said Stephen Elop, President and CEO of Nokia, in a statement on Wednesday. "Within our Smart Devices business unit, we have established early momentum with Lumia, and we are increasing our investments in Lumia to achieve market success. Our operator and distributor partners are providing solid support for Windows Phone as a third ecosystem, as evidenced most recently by the launch of the Lumia 900 by AT&T in the United States."

But the United States is actually a market primed for the "New Nokia," and the markets where the company must concentrate are the ones where it is losing market share as customers ditch their Nokia "dumbphones" for smartphones from other manufacturers.

China, the largest mobile audience in the world, is one of the main areas in which to watch Nokia in the coming quarters. As the company's biggest single market, China netted Nokia more than 5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in sales last year.

And that was done without the Lumia category of devices. It has only been two weeks since the TD-SCDMA Lumia 800C debuted in China, and indeed the entire Windows Phone ecosystem has only been available since Mid-March in China.

Analyzing file structures can be a complicated business, and definitely isn’t for the technically faint of heart. It can be useful for troubleshooting or security analysis purposes, though, or even when trying to identify a mystery file you’ve found somewhere on your PC. And whatever it is you’re trying to do, FileScanner is an interesting Java-based tool which just might be able to help.

The analysis process starts simply enough. Click File > Open File, or just drag and drop the target file onto FileScanner and it’ll automatically check the contents, before giving you a detailed report.

Is an image not displaying, for instance? Drag and drop a PNG, JPG or BMP file onto FileScanner and it’ll display the signature, headers, data blocks and other relevant information. If you understand the structure of that particular format then you may be able to spot what’s wrong. But even if you’re technically clueless about such things, you can still click the Image Data section to try and view the file contents, and perhaps click Edit > Export to save what’s left of the image in a new file.

Or maybe you can’t open an archive? Point FileScanner at a zip file and it’ll show you the various headers and data streams that the file contains.

Again, if you’re knowledgeable about such things then you can look for possible corruption, or try to find out more about the file (whether it’s encrypted, how it’s compressed and so on). But even if you’re an archive format newbie you may still be able to recover at least some files from the archive: just select them from the data stream, click Edit > Export and save them somewhere safe.

And it’s much the same story with executable files. Open a program and there’s plenty of PE Header-related technicalities to explore. But if you don’t care about those, then you can still use FileScanner to find images within the executable – icons, say – and extract them to disc. Simply expand the Resources section (Portable Executable Image > Section Data [.rsrc]), locate the images you need and click Edit > Export to save them.

What’s really useful about FileScanner, though, is it’s not just using file extensions and headers. As its name suggests, the program is actually scanning through a file, looking for and reporting on structures it recognises. So while FileScanner doesn’t directly support PDFs, when we opened one it still managed to detect and display the JPEGs it contained (which of course we could extract). And FileScanner doesn’t support Word DOCX files, either, but as they’re essentially ZIP files the program is still able to give you useful information about their contents, maybe even if they’re corrupted and can’t be opened elsewhere.

FileScanner does have a few issues. Information isn’t always displayed as clearly as we’d like; the interface could use a little work; and we’d like it to support more formats (being able to browse PDF contents in particular would be a great addition). It’s only a beta, though – we’re sure it’ll improve over time. And if you’re interested in this kind of low-level file analysis then FileScanner already provides more than enough features to justify the download.

Photo Credit: olly/Shutterstock

For anyone that is interested benchmarking the performance of their computer, be it a Mac, PC, Linux machine or a mobile device, Geekbench is a simple, low-cost tool that provides you with all of the tools you need. Benchmarking tools are often used by fans of overclocking and tweaking to see what difference can be made to performance, but they can also be helpful for revealing helpful information about the hardware in mobile phones and tablets.

If you are interested in benchmarking performance, it is likely that you are running recent hardware. As such, it is little surprise to find that the latest version of Geekbench drops support for PowerPC Macs. The fact that this is hardware that is no longer supported by Apple and the ever dwindling numbers of remaining users mean that this was really inevitability, and the day has now finally come.

Obviously there is nothing to stop PowerMac users from sticking with an older version of the app, but as of now development in this area has now ceased. But the app continues to grow and develop in other areas. In addition to new support for Ivy Bridge processors, there is also better support for 2009 MacBook Pros. Other changes include the ability to use a Pro license for a portable version of the app.

It is also worth noting that there are iOS and Android versions of the app available. For iOS users the app is not really able to reveal a great deal of information, but the Android version is somewhat more useful. In addition to revealing basic information about the hardware and OS you are working with, your mobile device can also be assigned an overall rating by testing the performance of memory, floating point operations and much more.

You can find out more by paying a visit to the Geekbench 2.3.0 review page. Separate versions are available for Android devices and for the iPad/iPhone.

Late today, Nokia confirmed the Lumia 900 suffers from an Internet connectivity problem, confirming reports first seen on its own message boards earlier this week. The company's US arm blames a software glitch for the problem. What is stunning, however, is the company's mea culpa: it makes Apple's response to "Antennagate" look stingy in retrospect.

"Software update coming soon to Nokia Lumia 900 addressing memory management", a tweet from Nokia US reads. "Customers receive automatic $100 credit". The update is due April 16, with the $100 credit valid through April 21. Affected users will be able to switch their device out for no charge instead if they prefer, and any new customer will get the device for free, since it retails in store for $99.

The issue surrounds how the phone manages memory and affects a small subset of Lumia owners. Those with the problem have had to remove their SIM card, turn the device off, turn it back on with the SIM removed, turn off the device, replace the SIM and then boot the device again. In some cases this will fix the issue.

In a tweet exchange with my colleague Joe Wilcox this evening, Bob Egan, Vice president of Mobile Strategy at Mobiquity, confirms seeing the problem and using the SIM-removal fix. Egan says the problem is "random as in some phones, not others. Seems to be a small percentage & may actually hv some relationship to a bug in provisioning...one of 900s I have just stop talking to the LTE network. Phone reset. Power cycle phone w/ SIM out. Problem gone".

AT&T started selling the Lumia 900 on April 8th, making the bug a potential marketing disaster, just two days later. Nokia is taking no chances.

"As a proactive and prudent measure, we decided, together with AT&T, to take immediate action", Nokia's US chief Chris Weber says. "We have identified the issue, and have developed a solution".

Nokia is already manufacturing devices with the software update included, and is shipping them to AT&T stores. The company did not specify when the updated Lumia would arrive in stores for affected customers, but told All Things Digital it was focused on "how do we do something unprecedented for any inconvenience, (and) pleasantly surprise the customers".

April 21 seems to be a date selected on purpose, though, as the white version of the device will become available on the 22nd. If the iPhone is any indication, white could be a popular color for the Lumia. Why not diminish any negative financial effects of the all-but recall by ending the deal before the white model launches?

Regardless, Nokia made a bold move here, and is getting some praise from industry professionals close to Microsoft. "Apple give users a $10 free case due to reception issues and Nokia fixes the issue and give you $100 cash", Microsoft Group Policy MVP Alan Burchill tweets.

Editors note: We should correct Mr. Burchill, though: the cases handed out by Apple for Antennagate were worth $29, not $10.

I recently purchased the much-hyped Nokia Lumia 900 and no longer have cellular service on my iPhone 4 and this is my story. (VH-1’s "Behind the Music" dramatic sound effects here).

Reason for switching: My 8 year old accidentally dripped water on my iPhone 4, and the Apple geniuses said there was nothing I could do to fix it. Everything worked but the volume -- wouldn’t ring and Netflix just isn’t the same without any sound. Of course I never have to tell my kids to turn down the weird sounds coming from Angry Birds as they hurl to their impending doom.

The other reason for switching was to experience the Windows Phone 7.5 interface first-hand. I know we’ve yammered about it at length but nothing beats actually putting the device through daily use.

First Impressions

The buying experience was very painless. No waiting in long lines getting served bottles of water and striking up awkward conversations with fellow Apple people that you’ll never see again. I simply pre-ordered the Lumia 900 (on my iPhone), and FedEx showed up with it a few days later.

Black is boring, so I opted for Cyan and now think that people might not take me as serious. Is this a bad thing?

The weight and feel of it is sturdy enough, and the phone slides easily into a pocket. The larger screen is nice, BTW. Have you held the Galaxy note? That thing is huge! And holding it up to your ear makes me feel like the 15th clown climbing out of a Volkswagen Beetle.

I seem to be doing a lot more swiping versus clicking icons. The Metro interface seems to be built for mobile use with larger buttons and tiles, but I'm not sure if swiping to the left to access more content makes the most sense and gets tedious quickly.

Things I Love

Affordable. The $99 price, or one cent if you’re new to AT&T, makes experimenting inexpensive and almost a throw away if the interface novelty wears off.

Display. The large screen is nice as we continue to do more and more on our phones and optimized websites provide an even better experience. The AMOLED display has great contrast with rich blacks, and the typeface is very sharp. Also love the ‘physical’ button to always back out of where you were -- a fundamental UX principal.

Live tiles. I’ve seen pictures of the home page display but it’s not the same until you see your own Facebook and LinkedIn people rotate, flip and swivel -- makes it fun to pull out your phone to check the time. I love the Ken Burns effects of your camera roll appearing as a double-wide tile.

Having the temperature available immediately without clicking makes sense and having your custom Xbox avatar animate and pop up is better than static icons. Without a doubt, these kinds of things make it more personal and goes beyond a simple utilitarian device used to make calls.

Performance. There’s been a lot of talk about the use of a single core processor, but I don’t see a negative. Lumia 900 is much faster and responsive to gestures than my iPhone and the LTE is blazingly fast.

It seems to stream Netflix faster than my wireless connection, and downloading a 25 MB app takes a few seconds. Call quality is about the same as before and the speaker phone is nice and loud without sounding tinny.

Battery life seems good -- makes it through a whole day with normal to heavy use on one charge (brightness is set to medium).

Things I Hate!

Being new to Windows Phone, please reply/comment if you have answers to some of my problems.

Hardware. The button placement simply blows. I find it very difficult to turn the thing on without looking at it. With an iPhone, you simply press any button. Nokia for some reason wants to confuse you with the power on button and the camera button every time!

While the back button is very useful (see things I love), the design of the phone makes it impossible to tell the top from the bottom and therefore you are fumbling in the dark to press the back button.

The search button becomes annoying as you type in a web address and instead of being brought to the page, you are brought to a list of results forcing you to tap again to go to the website. Plus, I’m not a fan of Bing and wish it was customizable for Google.

User interface. While I want to be a big proponent of Metro, it still has a lot of growing up to do. The three little dots to tell you there are more options make for a fun guessing game. I so badly want it to present choices that I expect to see, but too often feel a big letdown when all it does is present the text labels for the icons I already see. (Usually has more to do with the applications themselves than with the framework that supports them).

While I enjoy the large live tiles on the home page, more than 14 causes more swiping and I’m constantly having to swipe to the left to see all of the applications. I currently have 32 and there will be many more to come, which will only mean more swiping instead of seeing many at once or in folders like iOS. The home page/start screen is one of the most important aspects of a smartphone, and I would like more customization here.

I enjoy being able to text via WiFi to other iPhones because of my poor reception at my home and can’t do that now without installing a third-party app.

The inability to take screengrabs is very frustrating. There are many reasons (some fun, some for work) when screengrabs are necessary and not providing a way to do this seems like a big omission on Microsoft’s part. I couldn’t find any third-party apps that provide this functionality. Speaking of apps…

Applications/Marketplace. The big titles are in there and Gameloft has a nice selection (Let’s Golf 2 is a fav), but like many others who’ve complained about the lack of apps, the one app that’s missing for me is Hulu Plus. I have it on my iPhone, my laptop, my Xbox, my DVD player but not on my shiny new gadget.

Also, most of the apps seem only half-baked using icons so ugly that I won’t let them go near my clean user interface. A colleague of mine once stated that he doesn’t install apps based on this, and I thought it odd at the time but now I’m the one who’s an icon racist.

Bottom Line

I’ve had the Lumia 900 for four full days, and it’s too early to declare a clear winner. As you can see there are pluses and minuses for each device but I’m excited to experience something new. Now when iPhone 5 shows up or Windows Phone 8, I’ll have another dilemma to look forward to.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below. Did you recently make the switch too? Do you plan on making it soon; or are you waiting for something else?

Jeff Flahaven, MBA, is a senior User Experience designer for Magenic Technologies, a Microsoft consulting firm. He is an avid proponent for great mobile user experiences creating applications for clients like Best Buy, General Mills, Wells Fargo, NASA and others. His other passion is SharePoint.

Most of us now use at least two devices to connect to the Internet and while this freedom of connectivity is great in many respects, there are also problems associated with it. One of the most infuriating aspects of moving from browsing the web on one computer to using another device is that you will lose the web sites you were looking at. This is something that is addressed in the latest beta version of Google Chrome 19, which features the synchronization of tabs between devices. The feature extends to other devices a capability available with Chrome for Android Beta.

If you are working on your computer at work and then head home, there is no longer any need to send yourself an email with links to the websites you have been looking at during the day. Instead, assuming that you have the beta version of Google web browser installed on both machines and you are signed into your account, when you get home you need look no further than the ‘Other devices’ menu on the new tab page.

In this menu you will find a list of all of the tabs you have opened on other machines and you can load them up with just a further click. As an added bonus, the browsing history for individual links is preserved so you can still track back through your browsing trail without the need to worry about which computer you are using.

As well as this handy tab synchronization, the latest beta version also features the usual range of tweaks and bug fixes. Problems with NVIDIA GPUs with 3D graphics have been fixed as have issues with incognito windows. It’s a shame that it’s not possible to easily install the beta version of the browser alongside an existing installation of the stable release version, but it does seem remarkably stable in its own right.

The web browser is available for Windows, Mac and Linux, and you can find out more by paying a visit to the Google Chrome 19 Beta review page.

Enterprise software company SAP on Tuesday announced it plans to expand its presence in mobile applications by acquiring enterprise app developer Syclo for an undisclosed sum. Syclo provides field service and mobile asset management solutions to industries like utilities, oil & gas, manufacturing and biomedical.

Syclo's SMART family of enterprise mobile applications already integrate with SAP's ERP and CRM products and include a dozen different categories: Work Management, Service Management, Inventory, Auditing, Inspecting, Scheduling, Task Managment, Asset Management, Sales, and so on.

"With this acquisition, SAP adds momentum to our already powerful mobile portfolio, advancing our vision and leadership while accelerating our mobile apps," said Sanjay Poonen, president, Global Solutions, SAP. "Syclo brings both domain-savvy expertise and industry-leading solutions, as recognized by customers and analysts. This will drive innovation and mobility in the workplace."

Syclo's applications can be integrated into non-SAP solutions (such as those provided by IBM and Oracle), and the company says the acquisition will not change that. In fact, SAP’s strategy is to deliver mobile applications to both SAP and non-SAP systems.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012.

Photo Credit: ssuaphotos/Shutterstock

I just have to ask, because your first impressions will matter to other possible buyers. Colleague Tim Conneally reviewed Lumia 900, but good as that is we need more. I want your review, too. AT&T started selling the 4G LTE Windows Phone on April 8 -- Easter Sunday -- when the major malls here in San Diego were closed. Heck, even my local Target shuttered for the holiday. It's Tuesday, and that's time enough for your first impressions.

I got to thinking more about Lumia 900 last night when something quite unexpected happened. My wife asked: "That new phone is only $99?" Which one? "The Nokia". She had seen a TV commercial for the handset. My wife has never asked me about an advertised phone before. Never. Never. Never. If Mrs. Non-Geek Artist is intrigued, what about enthusiasts rushing out to buy Lumia 900? Is it a bruiser or a loser?

"Readers help other readers" is one of my mottos, and your Lumia 900 review can do just that. You can comment to this post or, better, submit a review to joe at betanews dot com; I'll need a bio and photo, too, as your name will appear in the byline.

Strong Buying Intentions

I know somebody bought Lumia 900. Two weeks ago, I posted a poll asking who would. The sample size is excellent -- 3,025 as I write. A whopping 70.45 percent of respondents say they will buy the Windows Phone within 3 months (including preorders). Only 16.96 percent won't buy at all.

Granted, respondents aren't qualified (meaning I don't know who they are) and are presumably Windows Phone enthusiasts (based on what I know about BetaNews readership). But I've been doing these buying polls for about 18 months and this is by far the most overwhelmingly positive response to any smartphone. The questions: How wide is this enthusiasm? Will it turn into real sales?

Commenter IT advisor doesn't believe the numbers: "How bizarre. Microsoft Windows Phone gets a market share of 75 percent among BetaNews readers. In the general population, it gets only 1.9 percent. Are these the same people who bought Zunes and Kins? Yes, they are! Hey, you can wave around your Microsoft Kin phone at parties these days and everyone will laugh!"

"Say what you will, and I am sure you will, but the Zune was actually a really nice device", PC_Tool responds. (Once you got over their utter lack of marketing and whatever childish 'color phobias you might have)." I agree, as expressed in my September 2009 Zune HD review. But he concedes, "not that I'll be getting a Windows Phone -- in the foreseeable, ever".

Shutter Speed

I'm a long-time Nokia fan, and only abandoned the manufacturer after it abandoned me (and perhaps you, too). Nokia had great hardware -- hell, it invented the smartphone around the time Windows 95 launched. But software and services stumbled after iPhone released in June 2007 and fell far behind Apple after App Store opened in July 2008 -- and later Google. I don't believe that Windows Phone can recapture Nokia's glory days, but I can hope!

Last week, in group chat, Tim expressed amazement at just how good is Lumia 900's camera. I explained that Nokia cameras have been great for years. Don't believe me? Gander at my Nokia N97 Flickr set or these tagged photos and compare to Tim's Lumia 900 slideshow.

Circling back where we started. Please submit your Lumia 900 mini-review in comments below or email the big shebang to joe at betanews dot com. Your first impressions take can help others decide whether to take the plunge -- and, remember, the white model comes out April 22nd -- or choose another.

Amazon on Tuesday launched in-app billing in its Android App Store, allowing developers to include for-pay content upgrades, subscriptions, and other purchase-driven features to their applications. The feature comes exactly one year after Google introduced in-app billing in the Android Market (now known as Google Play.)

Data from mobile app analytics company Flurry last year suggested that mobile games based on the "freemium" model earned two-thirds of all the revenue of the top 100 games. This business model is based on giving away the game, and keeping it free to play, but earning money through in-app purchases such as add-ons and content expansion packs.

Gaming company Glu Mobile has based its entire success around the freemium model. The company's title Gun Bros., for example, netted $610,000 in the first two months of 2011, after launching on iOS and Android.

Glu Mobile, along with ZeptoLab, Disney, Storm8, Social Gaming Network, Gameloft, G5 Entertainment, Condé Nast, Dow Jones, and New York Post have already integrated Amazon Appstore’s In-App Purchasing API, and offer Amazon's "1-click" purchasing in Android apps.

This announcement is most significant to a couple of groups. Firstly, it is significant to Kindle Fire users, since they have not had access to apps that utilize Google's in-app payment system. With the addition of in-app billing, more applications will be coming to the Kindle Fire.

Secondly, this is significant to app developers who are eyeing a more profitable Android audience.

Flurry, who we mentioned above, published a blog just over a week ago that said Amazon's Android App Store is significantly more profitable per user than Google Play is. The audience is smaller overall, but users are far more likely to spend money on Amazon than they are on Google Play.

"Amazon's bet to fork Android in order to put consumers into their own shopping experience on Kindle Fire appears to be paying off. Showing its commerce strength, Amazon already delivers more than three times the revenue per user in its app store compared to what Google generates for developers," said Flurry's Vice President of Marketing Peter Farago.

In a move aimed at unseating Amazon's dominance in the space, HP on Tuesday launched a cloud service known as HP Converged Cloud that allows companies to take advantage of the company's expansive data centers. Converged Cloud is very much like Amazon Web Services, which is by far the largest provider of public cloud access.

HP will offer on-demand instances and virtual machines, and users will pay for the resources they use starting May 10. In addition, two Infrastructure-as-a-Service offerings will launch: one a storage service that assists in moving data from one instance to another, and the other a relational database tool for MySQL.

New CEO Meg Whitman believes that cloud computing is one of the sectors that will return Hewlett Packard to a position of strength. By increasing cloud computing revenues, it is hoped that will lessen the financial pain of falling PC and printing revenues.

The Palo Alto, Calif. company already provides private cloud services as well as running data centers for select partners. However, HP did not make a big play for public cloud services until it started its public cloud effort last September.

HP is not abandoning the private cloud, and instead points to internal research that says there is a demand in IT for a mix of public and private deployments. The new features launching in may will help manage hybrid cloud deployments, and HP is also offering to manage private cloud deployments for those wishing to outsource.

"HP Converged Cloud enables enterprises to incorporate a blend of public, private and managed cloud services with their existing IT to create a seamless hybrid environment that rapidly adapts to their changing requirements", software chief Bill Veghte says.

Whether this public cloud computing push will change the game remains to be seen. Amazon is believed to hold a commanding lead in the space, and other Silicon Valley companies are making plays for what's left. IBM, Dell, and RackSpace are also staking a claim.

With cloud computing growing by leaps and bounds as of late there is space for new competitors. A 2011 survey by Morgan Stanley found that 28 percent of those surveyed were using the public cloud in their deployments. The firm expects that number to increase to half of all businesses by 2015.

Those entering the market better be prepared to tackle Amazon head on, both in price and in service offerings, however. AWS was responsible for about $1.1 billion of Amazon's total $48 billion revenue for 2011, of which about $100 million was profit.

Photo Credit: Tom Wang/Shutterstock

If there’s one silver lining to the cloud cast over Mac users by the recent revelation that the Flashback/Flashfake Trojan has infected over 600,000 Macs worldwide, it’s surely the end to the myth that Macs are invulnerable to viruses and other malware. Seasoned Mac users will have never claimed anything different, but now there’s no excuse for any Mac users to run without protection of some form or other.

Of course, before you can bolt the barn door, you need to make sure no horses have escaped, which is where Kaspersky’s free Flashfake Removal Tool comes in. As the name implies, it’s designed to remove any specific Flashback/Flashfake infection from your Mac; it’ll quickly scan for infection, inform you of the result and then take steps, if necessary, to nullify the infection.

The whole Flashfake furore came about because of a vulnerability in the Java programming language, which was exploited by hackers to great effect after OS X was left unprotected for over a month after the original hole had been patched by Oracle, Java’s developer. That’s because Apple relies on its own update mechanism, which wasn’t acted on until recently.

Once you’ve verified, or cleaned, your Mac, you need to make sure the patch is closed: fire up System Update and you’ll see the Java for OS X 2012-02 v1.0 patch waiting for you. Once installed, you should be safe from Flashfake.

Whether or not the Flashfake Removal Tool detected an infection or not, now is the time to add antivirus protection to your Mac if none is currently installed. You don’t have to pay a penny either, with both Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition and Avira Free Mac Security 1.0 providing protection against malware for free.

Kaspersky Flashfake Removal Tool is a freeware download for Mac users running OS X. Take our advice and run it as the first step towards keeping your Mac free from nasties.

Photo Credit: Ye/Shutterstock

Yesterday, Facebook announced that it acquired Instagram for $1 Billion. The company is less than two years old, has no revenue, and about a dozen employees. Remember, acquisitions are about what the acquirer can do with the company in the future, not some multiple of revenues or profits today. Why is Instagram worth $1 billion?

Facebook acquired Instagram for about $30 per user, or $1B. ($30/user X 33M users = $1 billion) Facebook is valued at about $100 per user or $80 billion ($100/user X 800M users = $80 billion). Other popular social apps are valued around $20 to $50 per user. The monetization models need to work out about the same to justify the valuations.

If Facebook was worth $80B last week, is it worth $81 billion now with the addition of Instagram? Yes. Here is why. The number one thing people do on Facebook is share photos. Photos are going mobile in a big way. Instagram is the clear leader in mobile photos. Instagram added 1 million users in the first day of availability on Android. Facebook needs a growth engine to show investors after they go public. Instagram is that growth engine, and it is worth much more than $1B to Facebook and its investors.

Web2.0 to Mobile

Everything is going mobile. Path, Instagram, FourSquare, are totally mobile, and don't care about the web. This could mark the turning point for another sea change; Web 2.0 to Mobile. Facebook has a horrible mobile app and needs to upgrade its mobile services. Path is the most elegantly designed mobile app, with an awesome user experience. Instagram is the best mobile photo app. FourSquare is the leader in mobile location data. All of them are critical to any company that wants to dominate the mobile paradigm shift.

Is Instagram Worth $1B to Microsoft or Twitter?

Probably not. Microsoft couldn't monetize the users and growth in the same way that Facebook can. Microsoft isn't focused on social or mobile photos. Twitter could realize a ton of value from Instagram, but $1 billion? Probably not. Twitter will still get lots of users and traffic from Instagram. They don't need to own it.

The value of a company is different for different potential acquirers. If Facebook can monetize its users in a way that justifies $100/user, than paying $30 per user for an acquisition is a great deal. For other potential acquirers maybe not. It depends on their monetization model, and what they plan to do with the acquisition in the future. This is why Instagram is worth $1 billion to Facebook, and why AOL patents are worth $1 billion to Microsoft. They both acquired good value for what they want to accomplish.

Don Dodge is developer advocate for Google, where he helps developers build new applications for the company's platforms and technologies. Before joining Google, he was one of Microsoft's most strategically-placed start-up evangelists. Dodge is a veteran of five start-ups, including AltaVista, Bowstreet, Forte Software, Groove Networks and Napster.

Toshiba's first Android tablets, called "Thrive," were a bit thicker and boxier than their competitors; but at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012, the company revealed it had slimmed down its second generation considerably with the 10" Excite tablet.

Tuesday, Toshiba unveiled a new member of the Excite family that proves the company still has size in mind with its Android Tablets. The new Excite 13 has the largest LED touchscreen of any Android tablet yet.

The Excite 13 tablet, as the name suggests, has a 13-inch (1600 x 900) screen, and manages to be only 0.4 inches in thickness and weigh 2.2 pounds. It is powered by Nvidia's Tegra 3 mobile processor platform with GeForce graphics and 1GB of RAM, and it includes a micro USB port, a micro HDMI port and a full-sized SD card slot. Some other unique aspects of the tablet, beyond its size, include its four-speaker sound system, and its support for ten simultaneous touch points.

"One size does not fit all, so we are carefully considering how and where people are using tablets and designing form factors to best suit various needs," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development in Toshiba's digital products division.

The Excite 13 tablet will be available at the beginning of June 2012, and carries a suggested retail price of $649.99 for the 32GB model and $749.99 for the 64GB model.

We now find ourselves well into Spring, so what better excuse is needed to start spring cleaning your computer? You can set about doing this manually, but it’s easier if you turn to a dedicated tool to take care of system maintenance.

iolo System Mechanic Free 10.8.3.51 is a free tool that can be used to delete unnecessary files, defrag your hard drive, clean out the registry and much more. If you’re someone that takes a keen interest in the smooth running of your computer, you probably have some form of application monitoring software installed, and Bad Application 1.0 is a simple little utility that will enable you to test these out, checking what happens with crashed and hung applications.

UserAssistView 1.02 is an interesting tool that can be used to keep an eye on which programs have been running, while WSCC 2.0.4.0 enables you to easily update, manage and use any Sysinternals and NirSoft utilities you have installed.

Another new system utility this week is Microsoft Fix it Portable, which provides a number of handy diagnostic tools in a program that does not need to be installed. As well as maintaining the performance of your computer, it is important to backup the data you have stored on it; this is something that Genie Timeline Free 2012 v3.0.1 can help with, enabling you to automatically safeguard your valuable files.

Should you be a little more demanding of your backup software Genie Timeline Home 2012 v3.0.1 allows for more frequent backups as well as a disaster recovery mode for any time you are unable to boot into Windows. Another step up the product line take you to Genie Timeline Professional 2012 v3.0.1, which gives you greater control over which files are backed up as well as making use of encryption.

Everyone has a series of digital photos stored on their hard drive, but how many of us actually put them to any use? With MAGIX PhotoStory on DVD MX (v11) installed you can transform your snaps into sophisticated slideshows that you can share with your friends and family. With a huge range of special effects and transitions to choose from and the ability to not only burn projects to disc, but also upload to the web, there’s plenty of scope for creativity here.

MAGIX PhotoStory on DVD MX Deluxe 11 is also available with even more options and templates for you to experiment with. From the same company is MAGIX MP3 deluxe MX (v18) which includes all of the tools you need to manage a music collection of any size. If talk of Windows 8 has got you hankering for a new look for your operating system,

Windows 8 Transformation Pack 4.0 and Windows 8 UX Pack 4.0 are available to help you get the look of the next version of Windows free of charge.

LibreOffice Productivity Suite 3.5.2 is a great office suite for any looking for a spreadsheet, word processor and more without the need to part with a penny,  and it is a piece of software that keeps improving with every release. If you’re more in the mood for fun, Simutrans 111.2.2 may be up your street -- it’s an intriguing twist on the sim genre which places you in charge of a transportation network. Fans of the Amiga platform will likely be interested in checking out WinUAE 2.4.0, which is a free Amiga emulator for Windows that can be used to run all manner of old games and software.

If you’re more interested in trying out the latest and greatest, VirtualBox 4.1.12 (build 77245) may be more what you’re looking for, enabling you to install virtual operating systems within Windows so you can try out different versions and platforms.

The week ahead is sure to be packed with a plethora of great new releases, so keep an eye on Downloadcrew and join us next week for another roundup.

Photo Credit: treasure dragon/Shutterstock

Recently, an article ran in the MIT Technology Review blog, in which Skyhook Wireless CEO Ted Morgan said "a lot of companies" are forking Android; that "nobody wants to just be a manufacturer for Google," and that a major non-Google Android device is coming out later this year.

The headline claimed Android manufacturers are "mutinying."

Skyhook Wireless is known for developing a software-only location system based on Wi-Fi positioning, GPS and cell tower triangulation. The article is somewhat vague, but says:

"[Unnamed manufacturers] are tired of making commodity devices that are merely vehicles for Google's Android OS, each indistinguishable from the other because of Google's rules about how Android can be implemented…The only thing keeping them tied to Google has been, up to now, the desire to be part of the official lineup of Android devices."

Morgan's statements warrant a closer look. Because frankly, who the heck is he talking about? Most of Skyhook's partnerships are with software companies, not device makers.

First, have a look at Google's "Official lineup of Android devices" here.

Under the heading "All Countries," we see that Google's list of Android devices includes products from literally every manufacturer in the Open Handset Alliance.

The only member missing is navigation company Garmin, who utilized Android for its Nuvifone G60 three years ago and then switched over to making their PNDs communicate with Android smartphones via software applications.

A few of the noteworthy Android devices absent from both the OHA and this official list of Android devices include: Amazon's Kindle Fire, Barnes and Noble's Nook family, tablets from top TV maker Vizio, all tablets/media players from Archos, devices from Sony (not the former joint venture with Ericsson), and Polaroid's Android-powered camera, to name just a scant few.

The article gets hung up on Amazon and how the Kindle Fire tweaked Android to such a degree that Google is scarcely anywhere to be found... but Skyhook has a couple of public affiliations with prominent hardware companies that would make a lot of sense if filled into the blanks of Morgan's statements.

Sony

I pointed out that Sony is missing from the list of sponsored Android devices. Only Sony Ericsson's smartphones are "official" Android devices, but the Sony Tablets that run on Android are not on the list.

Skyhook's location platform powers the "Near" social networking application on the PlayStation Vita, this solution tells what games nearby users are playing. Now that Sony has bought Ericsson out of its joint venture, it could conceivably release the next Xperia handset as its own forked Android with content only from the Playstation store, which sells music, movies, and games/apps, similar to Amazon and Google. Last month, Sony gave the Xperia S handset access to the PlayStation Store to do just that.

Intel

It seems like a lot of people have already forgotten that Intel has its own Android fork that runs on x86-based processors, and really, that is one of the most "major" companies in the tech world. What's more, Intel was forming a positive relationship with Skyhook, while Skyhook was engaged in a lawsuit with Google for business interference and patent infringement when its Wi-Fi/GPS location system was dropped from the Motorola Droid X.

Skyhook partnered with Intel at the beginning of 2011 to provide for software navigation systems for AppUp before Intel acquired Telmap.

We contacted Skyhook Wireless on Friday, but because it is a holiday weekend, Morgan wasn't available to speak with us to clarify if this "big new device" was coming from an existing partnership or a new one, and if the "lots of companies" that he mentioned were OHA members or not, which would really identify if this is a mutiny, or just an increase in Android competition.

With a host of free media organizers around, selling commercial equivalents can be something of a challenge. CyberLink isn’t giving up just yet, though, and its latest release, MediaShow 6, has some interesting new features to help it stand out from the crowd.

Top of the list must be the program’s new 3D support. MediaShow can now display 3D MPO pictures and videos, for instance. Or, if you don’t have any, it can convert your 2D photos or videos to 3D. MediaShow 6 can edit them, too, and when you’re happy is able to export the finished results as a 3D movie, or by burning your files to a 3D DVD or Blu-ray disc.

2D disc authoring is also improved, with new support for burning to regular Blu-ray, AVCHD and BDXL discs.

Elsewhere, the Media Library now includes a Facebook tab which gives easy access to your friends’ photos from within MediaShow. And the program can also be set up to monitor folders on services such as Dropbox, automatically updating if someone adds any media to your account.

The program’s interface has been optimised for touch-enabled displays, with support for various new gestures. When browsing your media library, for instance, you can now drag and drop it onto an item in the Media Library toolbar to activate the feature you need.

And of course MediaShow 6 includes all the features available in previous editions: a fast thumbnail browser; face recognition to help you tag photos; surprisingly capable fixes for both pictures and videos; slideshow creation, disc authoring, easy transfer to portable devices, and direct upload to Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.

The program comes in two editions.

MediaShow 6 Ultra ($69.95) is the high-end version, and includes everything we’ve described here.

MediaShow Deluxe ($49.95) is similar, but can’t edit 3D files, or convert 2D to 3D files, and can only burn CDs and DVDs (there’s no Blu-ray, AVCHD, BD-XL or HD Menu support).

Neither option is exactly cheap, but there’s plenty of functionality here, and if you’ll use it all then the program could appeal. Sounds interesting? Then a 30-day trial version of MediaShow 6 Ultra is available so you can find out more for yourself.

50 million people downloaded OMGPOP's Draw Something over the past two months, and it's at the top of the App Store charts. But for those of us who connected our Facebook accounts to the app, there's an even bigger problem: it stores a Facebook access token in plain text.

Want that in plain English? A hacker gets this little file, and he's got access to your private data.

The issue was discovered by Web developer Gareth Wright while investigating how mobile application developers handle security. He found that due to Draw Something requesting offline access to your account, he was able to perform a few FQL (Facebook's version of SQL, a database query language) queries and pulled private information from his Facebook account.

The access tokens are good for 60 days, but still cause for concern. "Aside from that a simple .net tool could easily snaffle this info and grab a fair whack of confirmed email addresses and marketing info", Wright mused in a blog post.

Users of both stock and jailbroken iPhones are at risk for this security issue. Those who have jailbroken are more at risk due to the security measures of the device being compromised, and the fact that jailbroken apps do not have as much oversight for malicious code as apps downloaded through the App Store do. Code could be written to find this access token and send it to a hacker, who then would be able to do the same things Wright did.

Draw Something is not the worst offender by far: that honor actually goes to Facebook itself. Wright found stored in the data files of the social networking company's app not only the same access token, but an authorization key which is the key to log into your account. This file is also in plain text, and can be used on another device to login to your account and post as you.

Unlike the desktop version, Facebook does not throw roadblocks when your account is accessed from a location it deems suspicious. Thus, with an iOS device (or even an emulator), your account is an open book.

Facebook confirms it is aware of the issue, but only says "we are working to fix it". No further information is given as to when the hole might be closed. Wright has several proof-of-concept exploits already produced, and has been able to collect over 1,000 vulnerable access tokens and authorization keys.

"Unless app developers follow suit and start encrypting the 60 day access token Facebook supplies, it’s only a matter of time before someone starts using the info for ill purpose…if they aren’t already", he writes.

Looking to save some money on your software purchases? Look no further than the Downloadcrew Software Store this April, where you’ll find all manner of bargains on everything from security tools to audio and video editing programs.

Genie Timeline Professional 2012 is an exciting new release that simplifies and automates the backup of your computer and you can save a massive 50-percent off the MSRP when you buy this invaluable tool for just $29.95. In the store there are also a number of tools suitable for anyone looking to get creative with audio and video files. A top deal is available for CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Ultra, a powerful video editing application that brings professional level tools to the home user -- you can save 30 percent when you buy the program for just $69.96.

If you already have an older copy of PowerDirector, you may be interested in saving 33 percent off CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Ultra UPGRADE ($39.95 instead of $59.95), and both packages include an extra $69 worth of software. If you’re more interested in boosting the sound of your audio files, there’s a colossal saving of 83 percent off MAGIX Audio Cleaning Lab v17 deluxe which you can buy for the ridiculously low price of $9.99.

April sees a number of special offers on security software, starting with a 75 percent off avast! Pro Antivirus 7. If you are an existing user of the free version of the program, upgrading will cost you just $9.99 and you’ll gain access to a whole range of extra features in the Pro release.

A great new release this month is Kaspersky PURE 2.0 Total Security, which will help to keep your computer safe. With virus protection, a firewall and much more, you can protect up to three computers for just $39.99 -- a saving of 60 percent. This is not the only security tool that’s on offer in the store; there’s also a 68-percent savings off PC Tools Spyware Doctor with Antivirus 2012, just $12.99, and 70 percent off PC Tools Internet Security 2012 - $14.95 instead of $49.95.

With Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 [3-PC, 1-Year] you can protect all of your home computers and save 64% when you buy the software for $28.95 instead of $79.95. If you have more computers to consider, there’s a great saving of 69 percent off Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 [5-PC, 1-Year] which is reduced from $129.95 to just $39.95.

There are also a number of security tools from AVG on offer this month, starting with 93 percent off AVG Anti-Virus 2012 [1-PC, 1-Year] which is available for the unbelievably low price of $2.95 -- if you been considering upgrading from the free version of AVG’s antivirus tool, there has never been a better time to do so. From the same company there is also AVG Internet Security 2012 Plus Bundle which includes four fantastic security products for just $29.95 -- saving you an amazing 80 percent off the MSRP of $149.

There’s also a great saving of 79 percent to be made on AVG Premium Security Complete Bundle. This bundles includes everything you need to keep you and your computer save and costs just $24.95. One final offer from AVG is for AVG Internet Security 2012 [4-PC, 2-Year] which can be you for just $24.99 -- a saving of 64 percent off the MSRP. This is a powerful suite that includes not only virus protection but also parental controls, online backup, a firewall and much more.

Rounding up this month’s offer highlights is a selection of helpful utilities that will help you to keep your computer running at peak performance. Auslogics BoostSpeed 5 is an immensely powerful tool that can be used to improve the performance of your system in just a few steps -- all for just $9.95. this price includes a three PC licence, meaning that the 80-percent savings represents even better value for money.

If you want to keep your hard drive in good shape, look no further than Auslogics Disk Defrag Pro 4. This amazing defrag tool can be installed on up to three computers and at just $9.95, you can save 67 percent off the MSRP. There are numerous performance boosting tools available for Windows, but when it comes to value for money, it’s hard to beat TuneUp Utilities 2012.

This program costs just $14.99, saving you 70 percent off the MSRP, but the fact that it can be installed on up to three computers and includes a lifetime, non-expiring license makes this an incredible deal. If you have more machines that you would like to tend to, take a look at TuneUp Utilities Business Edition 2012, which includes a five PC, lifetime license for the same price -- $14.95 instead of $83.95.

These are just some of the highlights for this month -- there are plenty more bargains to be found if you head on over to the store.

Photo Credit: iQoncept/Shutterstock

Early results from our "do you have anti-malware installed on your primary computer" polls are in, and there's some change from the ones conducted last May. More respondents on Mac and Windows use security software, but the split remains polarized: 75 percent of Mac users don't, while 90 percent of their Windows counterparts do. Welcome to the wonderful world of Apple denial. There are no pesticides to save this crop.

Responses are unusually low to both polls. I should know better asking anything over the Easter holiday weekend and start of Passover. I'm re-embedding the polls, hoping to jack up the numbers -- 315 for Mac and 358 for Windows, as I write. But the polarized results are consistent enough with the previous polls, when 86 percent of Windows PC users answered yes and 81 percent of Mac owners no. The difference between the polls is within reasonable margin of error, particularly considering respondents aren't qualified. Responses also could represent increased anti-malware usage in both camps.

I asked the poll following reports that the Flashback Trojan infects more than 600,000 Macs, binding them together as a botnet. Flashback first popped up last summer, so this isn't something new -- just the success as new variants appeared, Apple released updates (often too slowly) and Mac users failed to apply them.

Readers Respond

BetaNews reader Joel Medina uses OS X and Windows, and on the latter runs Microsoft Security Essentials. "But on my mac I rarely install an AV program -- not because I think I'm immune but because it's just so rare that Macs get them because the focus for years for hackers was to attack Windows. But now that Macs are starting to get into mainstream usage I'm considering an antivirus program for my Macs."

Andrew Johnson comments earlier today:

Getting nasties such as Mac Defender or System Tool 2012 or whatever on your computer has always been more about the user's browsing habits than about any supposed flaws, or lack thereof, in the browser and/or operating system. This is not to say that those flaws do not exist, but they would be harder to exploit if most users knew what and how to avoid infection.

Mac has had a pretty good track record up until recently, but I have always said, Apple versus Microsoft is an irritating debate, because it's all code, and if you can write code for it, you can write malicious code. I'm not using the "security through obscurity" argument here, I'm just saying it was always just a matter of time.

On a side note, I find it sad how many people think that their smartphones are unassailable fortresses even though the number of infected mobile devices is on the rise.

The real question to ask: Do you need antivirus software at all? Reader capncoad has an answer for that: "Anti-malware apps are simply a moron detector with no real security. Every time it dings and tell you that it blocked a virus, it's really saying 'moron'...If someone created an antivirus app that caused your PC to shock you every time you downloaded a 200kb executable thinking it was a free song then I think we'd be on to something".

That's the point isn't it? Behavior. Windows 7 and OS X 10.7 are pretty hardened. Often malware infections are about stupid online behavior. "How stupid can people be", maddy143ded writes. "Why download stuff from websites that promise you a song and instead give you a small executable?"

Is anti-malware software installed on your primary home Macintosh?

 

Is anti-malware software installed on your primary home Windows PC?

Do I Feel Lucky?

There are lots of reasons, like social media. Your friend whom you trust recommends a link and you click. Or you trust Google and search for band X, only to find SEO poisoning in place. Or you trust Apple marketing statements like "Mac OS X doesn't get PC viruses", creating a false sense of security. Or you're browsing from home, you feel safe and project that feeling to web browsing. Trust is the constant.

Last year I kicked Apple in the groin for making security claims like this: "Mac OS X doesn't get PC viruses", which fosters a false sense of security. Oftentimes, as Flashback and countless Windows malware show, successful attacks are more about social engineering than lax operating system security. Human behavior matters as much, sometimes more. Criminals can break in no matter how good the locks if people open the door for them.

But do they need to install a separate security system (e.g. anti-malware)? I would feel pretty safe using Windows 8 and OS X Snow Leopard without anti-malware software. But then, again, I'm cautious of what I click.

After making Snow Leopard seem like the toughest thing next to the Terminator, the updated OS X security page concedes and recommends:

The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box. However, since no system can be 100 percent immune from every threat, here are some other ways to help keep your information as safe as possible:

• Download files only from known and trusted websites.
• Use FileVault 2 to encrypt everything on your Mac.
• Control access to your Mac by locking your screen after a period of inactivity.
• Securely delete outdated sensitive files with the Secure Empty Trash command.

As Clint Eastwood playing Dirty Harry said, "You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"

Photo Credits: maraga/Shutterstock

Trend Micro has launched DirectPass 1.0, an online password management tool for Windows. Trend Micro DirectPass, which also comes as a free app for iPhone and iPad and Android, includes online password manager, automatic form filling, secure notes taker and built-in secure browser for accessing sensitive websites securely.

Trend Micro DirectPass enters a crowded market, with established tools like Lastpass and KeePass being joined by the likes of Norton Identity Safe Beta. While Symantec’s offering is free, DirectPass will require an annual subscription for unlimited password storage.

Like its rivals, Trend Micro DirectPass offers a secure, encrypted online storage location for all of a user’s online passwords. By protecting them with a single, master password, the user is encouraged to replace existing duplicate and weak passwords with unique, difficult to remember keys that can’t easily be hacked or guessed. DirectPass bundles an automatic password generator to aid the user in this quest.

The tool, which installs as a browser extension in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome, acts as a browser add-in. It triggers automatic password entry when the site’s details are present in the user database, and offers to save passwords when the user accesses a site for the first time. These details are encrypted and synchronised to a cloud-based server, allowing the user to access their login details from any computer or mobile device with DirectPass installed.

The app also offers its own standalone secure browser for accessing banking and financial websites, encrypted keystroke entry to tackle keylogging software and the ability to fill in forms securely, automatically and quickly. Secure notes are also accessible through the service, which is linked to the user’s Trend Micro account.

The software isn’t free to use, although users can store up to five passwords without charge as part of testing DirectPass. A single year’s license offering unlimited passwords costs $14.95, with a two-year plan coming in at $24.95.

DirectPass 1.0 is a free download for PCs running Windows XP SP3 or later, while free mobile apps are available for iPad, iPhone and Android devices.

Photo Credit: marekuliasz/Shutterstock

If you’ve ever thought Windows really should make better use of your mouse wheel, then Feel the Wheel will probably be of interest. It’s a tiny portable tool, and we do mean tiny, a 4.5KB download, which allows you to resize windows or tweak their transparency with the mouse wheel alone.

To give this a try, grab your copy of the download file, unzip it somewhere safe, double-click FeeWhee.exe and a high-pitched beep will tell you it’s loaded.

Now move your mouse cursor over a window title bar, spin your mouse wheel and the window will resize.

If you’d like to adjust a window’s transparency, just move your mouse cursor over that title bar, and spin the wheel again until you reach whatever transparency you need. (Be careful with this one, though. If you make a window completely transparent and lose track of its position, then you won’t easily be able to find the title bar to make it visible again.)

And when you’ve finished with the program, run the executable again and a lower-pitched beep will tell you that it’s unloaded itself. (There is no interface, so audio feedback is all you’re going to get.)

Okay, it’s true, there are plenty of tools which do similar things (and, usually, considerably more).

Feel the Wheel was there before most of them, though (the program dates from 2005, although it still works just fine on Windows 7). It doesn’t have an interface, so won’t clutter your system tray with yet another icon. And RAM use is only 2.5MB, probably too much for what it’s doing, but still fairly lightweight. The program may be basic, but it still does a good job, and so if you need a simple transparency tweaker then Feel the Wheel could be a sensible choice.

Photo Credits: Dmitriy Shironosov/Shutterstock

When you need to convert, resize or otherwise process a set of images then of course you could work with them all individually. And that will probably deliver the best results as you can tailor your tweaks to whatever each image requires. But if you’ve not just 4 or 5 photos, but 20, 50, 100 or more than you may want to look for a little batch processing assistance from a tool like ImBatch.

Getting started is as easy as dragging and dropping your preferred images onto the program. ImBatch imports all the usual formats -- PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP and so on -- as well as many other file types which you might not expect (PSD, TGA, PCX, TIFF, WDP, HDP and more).

You’re then able to choose whatever operations you’d like to perform on your selected photos from the Task list. You can save the image in another format, for instance; resize, rotate or flip it; work with EXIF or IPTC tags; and apply a few effects or image tweaks (“Soft Shadow”, “Round Corners”, “Convert Colours”, “Convert to Gray”).

This isn’t the most impressive of lists, then. And a less than intuitive interface means you can spend a while clicking around, trying to figure out exactly what you can do. Still, the tasks you do get are a little more configurable than you might expect.

The Resize action allows you to specify your target size in pixels, inches, millimetres, centimetres and as a percentage of the original size, for instance.

The “Set Tag” task can configure your choice of 16 EXIF and 15 IPTC tags.

And the “Convert Colors” option will convert your photo colour format to 32-bit, 24-bit, 256 colors, 16 colors, black and white, or a specific number of colours which you define.

We’d still like to able to do more -- the ability to tweak colors, brightness and contrast, say, would be welcome -- but then ImBatch hasn’t even hit version 1.0 yet (it’s currently at 0.9), so it’s hardly surprising that the program is missing a few features. ImBatch handles the basics well, though, once you’ve figured out the interface, so if you’re in the market for an image batch processor then you should probably give it a try.

Are you looking for a way to increase productivity when it comes to your software development? Are you willing to try something different? How would you like to speed up software development, decrease time spent on software maintenance and improve the reliability of your software?

Many a long-time C programmer will likely tell you that C (or C++, C#) is the only serious programming language worth using today in business or the enterprise. To even suggest otherwise would likely make one a laughing stock by one's peers. Yet think about this for just a moment: Of all the software projects you or your company have undertaken, how many of them have come in over budget? How many have actually failed completely? How many, though finished, were plagued with bugs that never seem to get resolved? How easy has it been to maintain such projects, years after they were developed?

If you or your company has never experienced any of these problems, then congratulations. You need not read any further, since you obviously have a good team of programmers who have earned their keep.

But if you have experienced these problems and possibly even in excess, then, please, for a moment be willing to consider a different approach to software development. I would like to reintroduce you to a programming language, despite all the efforts to make it go away. It is a language that most of us once knew, which we may have forgotten about, which has grown and matured while we have been courting the current generation of programming languages.

It is kind of like a young boy, who befriended the girl next door when they were children. They played games together and laughed together and were best friends. But as they grew older, they left their childish ways behind and grew up, going their separate ways. But a strange thing happened one day. As young adults, they happened to meet again and started sharing their memories of the past. As they begin to learn more about each other, they realize that both had matured and that they see new things in each other, which makes them appreciate one another even more. They begin to develop a deeper affection for each other beyond what they had when they were children. You know how the story ends, don't you?

Nice Story But What Does It Have To Do With Programming?

Actually a lot! Some developers have actually experienced something similar with programming languages. When I mention the name of one specific programming language, I think some of you will get the point of the story immediately. If you don't get it, I doubt you ever will, so don't read any further and please don't ruin this beautiful story for the rest of us who do.

BASIC

What? You have to be kidding right? Actually, no I am not and if you consider the story above, I think you know where I am going with this. Now some may say, isn't the BASIC programming language truly obsolete and old fashioned? Shouldn't BASIC finally be let out to pasture? Isn't BASIC a bad programming language?

That's what some of the educators in our colleges may tell you. Thats what professional programmers, the elite of the developer world, may tell you.

I read an interesting blog, where an article discusses this subject and the author quotes someone who supposedly said the following:

It is practically impossible to teach good programming style to students that have had prior exposure to BASIC; as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.

The author's reply impressed me, when he stated "I grew up on BASIC" and proceeded to explain about his feeling towards it.

Going back to my story earlier, one can imagine the boy when grown older, despite maybe not seeing the girl for years, because of his fond memories of her he is willing to defend her reputation to anyone who may attempt to say a bad word about that girl next door.

So why so much passion and feeling for a programming language, which by all rights is suppose to be dead and obsolete?

"I started learning programming using BASIC!"

I find it interesting that many an experienced programmer, when describing how they first learned to program a computer, often says something like "I started learning programming using BASIC". Often their story ends with them moving on to other languages that they may refer to as being more modern, professional or mainstream. Programmers who move on to languages like C++ may even deride their first language (BASIC) as being obsolete, deserving to be forgotten forever.

BASIC Has A Rich Heritage

No matter how any developer today views BASIC, one thing that is indisputable is the long and rich heritage the programming language has. Personally my first exposure to BASIC was in 1975, over 37 years ago. I learned how to write simple BASIC programs on a terminal connected via a phone line to a college mainframe computer. My high school math teacher wanted to expose his advanced students to programming.

Years later my next exposure to BASIC was my first home computer, a Texas Instruments TI-99A computer. Then came an Atari 400 and a Commodore 64. Some may be surprised to learn, that even back then BASIC was more than simply an interpreted language burned into a ROM chip. Abacus created a real BASIC compiler for the Commodore 64 and that was my first experience using Basic as a compiled language. That compiler produced some very fast running code.

Over the years I moved on to GW Basic, QBasic and then my first truly professional programming language Microsoft QuickBasic. My last DOS BASIC compiler was the Microsoft PDS 7.1 compiler. I wrote a lot of custom software over the years using PDS 7.1.

Then Came Windows

When Windows came along, now it was time to move to a GUI based programming language. The transition to Windows was difficult at first, because some of the Basic languages I tried were not as easy to learn as their DOS cousins were. I experimented with GFABasic and CA Realizer. But it was Visual Basic which finally caught my attention and VB 1.0 was quite easy to learn and use. The problem with the early versions of VB was that they generated PCode and not machine code, so speed was an issue. I was spoiled by DOS BASIC compilers. My last version of VB was 5.0 Professional and that could generate quality machine code.

A lot of programmers made a good living using Visual Basic, but sadly it died a slow death when its .NET cousin came on the scene. Many long time Basic programmers may feel like me, that BASIC lost its way when VB went the route of .NET.

So Is BASIC Dead Now?

What is so amazing about BASIC is that no matter how many people try to put it out to pasture, there are those who keep bringing it back to life and often with some amazing results. Also like the girl next door in my story, at least one (possibly more) Basic programming language never disappeared, but simply grew and matured over time, never losing what made it BASIC, but simply improving with time.

While Microsoft has left BASIC as we know in the dust, other companies, some simply one-man operations developing indie versions of Basic, keep bringing BASIC back and today it has many different flavors, from scripting languages to full-blown Windows compilers. Some of these BASICs amazingly maintain the ability to be backward compatible with BASICs used over 20 years ago, while providing many modern constructs found in more main stream languages like C++. If you like BASIC, then likely there is a flavor just for you. So where are all these BASIC programming languages and why even consider them?

Why BASIC?

Going back to my original questions, BASIC has something that other languages have often failed to appreciate. The reason BASIC was so popular in the past and the reason it is so popular today is one simple thing: It is a natural language. Let's be honest here. When you look at a language like C++, while it is a very good programming language, it can never compare to BASIC in its naturalness. It was designed to be easy to learn, easy to read and easy to code. That is why it is one the favorite languages for hobby programmers. Now some may suggest that this is the very reason BASIC is not well fitted to professional programming.

But like the king in the story "The Emperors new clothes", maybe it takes a child to remind us that things may not be as they appear. In an effort to find something better, the king and his court ended up a little bit embarrassed. Maybe the simple and obvious is not so bad after all.

The purpose of this article is to debunk that reasoning. BASIC's ease of use and excellent readability is actually a pro and not a con. If you ask a professional programmer who still uses BASIC today, why he or she uses it, most of the time the first answer will be its ease of use, its naturalness. You can write code in BASIC, shelve it for a couple of years, then come back to it years later and usually pick up right where you left off. Its naturalness is a benefit. It increases productivity significantly. It improves code maintainability significantly. It is also easier to code for many and it even can be fun.

The naturalness of a programming language is something few consider today, but it really does make a difference. I know. I have been seriously coding in some flavor of BASIC for over 20 years. I used a BASIC compiler in the days when most were only using the interpreted Basic in ROM's (ie. Commodore 64). I even wrote my own BASIC like compiler, using the Abacus Basic compiler (for C64) just so I could create an even faster basic so I could write a video game. It actually earned me over $1,000 when I sold the game to the Compute Gazette magazine. I was writing commercial quality applications for local businesses using BASIC even before the IBM PC became popular (on Kaypro computers running CPM).

To quote Richard Mansfield: "Given the freedom to choose, the public -- amateurs and small business programmers -- greatly prefers Basic and 4GLs". Why? Because there are advantages to "languages that are deliberately constructed to resemble natural human language as much as possible" as Mansfield suggests. I agree.

After all these years of programming using BASIC, I can attest to its ability to be used to write commercial quality software and I still write software using BASIC today. Its naturalness is not only appealing, but it increases productivity significantly.

The Girl Next Door

Like the girl next door in the story, BASIC has grown and matured over the years. What one loved about her in her youth, is still there, but today she has qualities that make her even more beautiful than ever. Yes, she has turned out to not only be a beauty, but also a faithful friend, a devoted worker and she has new charms one never thought she ever could have. She has even more reasons to be loved today, than she did in her youth and her beauty is not just skin deep. It runs to the core of who she is.

This is no fairytale, no imaginary story. She really lives (I mean BASIC of course).

BASIC still lives on because it is an excellent and productive programming language. Its lives and breathes ease of use and naturalness. If BASIC is so easy that a child can use it, imagine what a professional can do with it?

This much I can say from experience. BASIC's naturalness is why I use it professionally. Code readability is exceptional with BASIC, which makes coding faster, in my opinion. Believe it or not, when I get in a real coding mood (productive) I almost think in BASIC. The code flows.

BASIC Here, BASIC There, BASIC Everywhere!

Whether for Windows, Linux or the Mac, there is likely a BASIC somewhere just for you. Please check out the following web sites and their extensive list of BASIC programming languages:

• The Basic's Page
• Free BASIC Compilers and Interpreters

Some of these BASICs deserve special mention. While I have not personally used these Basic languages, from my own research I have found that they are quite popular with many users, so they deserve to be highlighted.

• Basic4Android
• BlitzMax
• IWBasic
• Creative Basic
• Free Basic
• Pure Basic
• RealBasic

(If you have found another flavor of Basic which you think deserves mentioning, please post a comment to this article and note it.)

My Personal BASIC Favorites

So what about me personally? What are my favorite BASIC languages? The first one, I am only in the learning process with it, but it still is a favorite simply because of how it was created and the popularity it has developed. The language is called ThinBasic.

It is free and a BASIC scripting language. It was written using my favorite BASIC language (see below) and if you are a hobby programmer who wants to learn BASIC, I think it might just be the one for you. It has an excellent website with an online forum to help you get started learning how to use it. It is a quality scripting language and very well designed.

The language can even be extended with modules; for example there is an excellent 3D graphics module available. I feel that it would be an excellent BASIC to use in educational settings, too, so if you are a teacher and want to start teaching your students how to program using BASIC, then please check out ThinBasic. It also should be noted that the ThinBasic language was patterned after the professional version of BASIC that was used to create it. Students who enjoy ThinBasic, can later move on to a professional compiler with a similar language and syntax.

So what BASIC do I use professionally ? It is called PowerBASIC and, boy, does it have a rich heritage. Back in the DOS days, if you were programming then, likely you heard of Borland's famous TurboBasic. It was the only BASIC compiler that some may feel ever came close to unseating Microsoft's QuickBasic compiler.

Borland sold the rights to TurboBasic back to its developer, Bob Zale, and he renamed it PowerBASIC and he started his own company to sell this powerful compiler. PowerBASIC is a small company that has had to work very hard to build its reputation over the years without the backing of a huge software corporation behind it. Today it is one of the software industries best kept secrets. Why?

Because there are a few things that make PowerBASIC stand out from the rest. First is its commitment to quality. I personally am a stickler when it comes to reliable software. My goal is to create software which is as close as possible to being 100% bug free. The programming language one uses is critical to this goal. PowerBASIC has proven itself to be reliable. I have used PowerBASIC for a good 10 years now, and I can honestly say I have been very satisfied with its reliability.

Second, is executable speed. As long as I have been programming, I have concentrated on developing software that runs as fast as possible. In my opinion, PowerBASIC produces fast executables, which are on par with what any C compiler can produce today and if you find you can't get enough speed out of the compiler using BASIC, then it also supports inline assembler.

Third, I want to write software with as small a footprint as possible and once again PowerBASIC has come through. I know this from experience. PowerBASIC programmers like to joke about being able to write large software applications which can still fit on a floppy disk. If you want to write applications which are well-suited to the limited hardware of todays Windows tablet PC's, then PowerBasic is worth your investigation.

PowerBASIC also has an online peer to peer forum, which over and over again has proven itself to have a community of programmers with some of the most experienced Windows API programmers I have come across. PowerBASIC takes this community forum so seriously, they even do not permit members to use an alias. It is a community of real people, who over the years have been sharing their knowledge and experience with one another.

PowerBASIC also has in recent years been supported by some quality third-party developers who have produced tools and libraries for use with Powerbasic (I am one of those developers). You can find more information about these add-ons for PowerBASIC on their website, but just to name a few that I am most impressed with there is an excellent Grid control called EGrid, an amazing Graphic engine called GDImage, a powerful skin engine called WinLift, an excellent third party Visual Designer called FireFly and others.

If you are a Visual Basic programmer who still uses VB 6.0, then PowerBASIC would be a great addition to your toolbox for building fast DLL's. With PowerBasic you have full access to the Windows API, plus a rich BASIC command set.

Maybe you doubt that any business with any sense would use Basic. Well take a look at this list of PowerBASIC customers and see if there are any reputable companies on it.

BASIC Still Lives!

Yes, BASIC is not only still alive, but it is thriving. There is likely a BASIC which can fit your specific needs, whether it be for Windows, Linux , Mac or even Android. Why not check out the lists provided in the links above and download a few versions today.

Photo Credits: Lilya/Shutterstock (top); chaoss/Shutterstock

Chris Boss is an advanced Windows API programmer and developer of 10 year-old EZGUI, which is now version 5. He owns The Computer Workshop, which opened for businesses in the late 1980s. He originally developed custom software for local businesses. Now he develops programming tools for use with the PowerBasic compiler.

I occasionally do. My wife does every day, multiple times, either using her Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket or Amazon Kindle. "In the US, 88 percent of tablet owners and 86 percent of smartphone owners said they used their device while watching TV at least once during a 30-day period", Nielsen says today. That's me. "For 45 percent of tablet tapping Americans, using their device while watching TV was a daily event". That's my better half. What about you?

I do tend to use my smartphone more often than a tablet while watching TV, that's to Shazam music -- something I frequently do everywhere. I was a deejay in an earlier life and compulsively search for good music. I'm not alone. Shazam audio QR codes appeared in Super Bowl ads for Best Buy, Pepsi and Toyota, among others. I see more QR codes in ads and TV shows every day. They're everywhere, and in some surprising places.

Nielsen's findings make sense of an increasing trend I see during prime-time programming: Interactive, companion smartphone and tablet apps. Second-screen they're often called, and emphasis often is social networking and sharing. "The Walking Dead" comes to mind. If I recall, viewers could track the number of people killed in real time, but the season's over and I didn't use the app. Last month, The Peel app extended its mobile apps second-screen in a pilot program with "American Idol". Suddenly, the live finalist broadcasts are interactive and social.

"It seems there are always a few controversial moments on American Idol, whether it is an overly harsh judge or the beloved contestant who is unexpectedly voted off", Peel CEO Greg Lindley says. "We are looking forward to being able to share our community's predictions and passion".

There is no shortage of second-screen apps. Among those for dedicated shows: "Bones"; "Celebrity Apprentice"; "New Girl"; MTVWatchWith, which covers the network's prime-time lineup; and NBC Live, which likewise is for prime-time programming; among many others.

Networks are getting more involved. For example, Fox has taken a small equity stake in ACTV8.me, which produces the "New Girl" app.

I'm surprised to see how far this second-screen thing goes. In late November eBay broke a feature from its iOS app as standalone for iPad: Watch with eBay. "You can browse and buy items related to the TV shows you’re watching", according to the auction site (This is where my jaw drops).

Definitely TV watching is increasingly social. Whether Facebook, Twitter, other social networks or broadly-dedicated second-screen apps like IntoNow, Miso or Zeebox (for UK audiences). How often do you see hashtags displayed during prime-time broadcasts, for example? I see them every day.

I wonder about these second-screen apps. "The most frequent tablet or smartphone activity across all countries while also watching TV was checking email, either during a commercial break or during the show", Nielsen says. I must confess, on the rare occasions I use a tablet while watching TV it's to manage email, which is faster by touch than mouse (well for me).

"Device owners also seem to engage with content related to the TV as well, either by looking up information related to the show or looking for deals and general information on products advertised on TV", according to Nielsen.

The closest I ever came to social watching: Dave Barry's live blogging commentaries of Fox series "24". Barry is a riot. But that was all before Facebook and Twitter added a different social element to TV watching -- or second-screen apps. But after writing this post, I might just start doing so.

Not that I need more reasons to sit in front of the boob tube. Do you?

The Justice Department is nearing a settlement with publishers over allegations of ebook pricing, but finalizing the deal is proving problematic as Apple and two publishers are balking at the terms of the deal. Amazon will be permitted to once again discount ebooks to its customers as a result.

Penguin Group and Macmillian have joined Apple in resisting the settlement, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal voids the contracts Apple signed with publishers in 2010, and permits a return to "wholesale pricing", where the retailer determines the price.

Such terms are likely unpalatable to the publishers as prices would drop significantly on ebooks and give retailers broad power on determining value. For Apple, it would force the Cupertino, Calif. company to drop its own prices in response to Amazon's moves, and likely sell some ebooks at a loss.

In court documents Apple indicates it has no desire to do this, and may exit the ebook business as a result of a return to wholesale pricing. While a settlement certainly seems closer at this point, WSJ sources call the situation "fluid", and the Justice Department could still file suit at any time.

The DOJ is joined by the EU's antitrust division in its investigation, which has already publicly signaled its willingness to settle. But European regulators want the same concessions, so it's likely the two sides are no closer to a settlement there.

Publishers have suggested keeping the current pricing model but scrapping the so-called "most favorite nation" clause in an attempt to appease Justice Department officials. As we reported last month, this portion of the deals between Apple and the publishers is the most controversial, and also quite possibly illegal.

"The book publishers had an obvious motive -- to preserve the profit margins on the sale of hardcover and paperback books, which were threatened by the much lower prices for ebooks that were offered by Amazon", antitrust lawyer William Markham told BetaNews at the time. "The book publishers enlisted the aid of Apple, which agreed to offer ebooks on its iBook platform only at approximately $15 per ebook".

This isn't satisfactory to the DOJ, the WSJ says, and wants some type of "cooling off" period before the publishers could reinstitute agency pricing. Regulators seem to believe the only way this could be done is under another collusive type arrangement.

Requests for comment from the book publishers and Apple on the situation went unanswered as of press time.

Photo Credit: Daniilantiq/Shutterstock

The state of New York has pulled more than 3,500 registered sex offenders from various online gaming platforms, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced on Thursday. The initiative, supported in part by Microsoft, Apple, Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Disney Interactive Media Group, Warner Brothers and Sony, is called "Operation: Game Over."

New York State's law requires convicted sex offenders to register all of their online identities with the state, be they email addresses, screen names, or whatever. "Operation: Game Over," however, is the first time the New York law has been applied to online video games.

Spurred by the story of the 19-year old man abusing a 10-year old boy after a three-month long Xbox Live friendship, Schneiderman's office approached game companies with the request that sex offenders be banned, purged, or have their communication privileges revoked. The Attorney General's office did not specify the networks from which privileges were revoked.

"We must ensure online video game systems do not become a digital playground for dangerous predators. That means doing everything possible to block sex offenders from using gaming networks as a vehicle to prey on underage victims,” said Attorney General Schneiderman in a statement on Thursday. "I applaud all the companies participating in this first-of-its-kind initiative for taking online safety seriously and purging their networks of sex offenders. Together we are making the online community safer for our children, not allowing it to become a 21st century crime scene."

Photo: [ag.ny.gov]

Much has been made of Taposé in recent days, with a great detail of attention being focused on the new iPad app being based on the failed Microsoft Courier project. But it is important to look at this as a piece of software in its own right.

Taken at face value, this is an app that could easily been seen as trying to be all things to all people, but the simple fact: it is a fully-featured tool. Packing notes, maps, word processor, web browser, drawing tools and much more, this is an app that can turn its hand to many tasks.

Taposé is surprisingly flexible, and when used in portrait mode it is a versatile app that can be used for everything from drawing plans, collecting together ideas for a project, keeping notes and much more. The set of tools you are presented with means that Taposé can easily replace several apps and can save you a great deal of app switching. But it is when you switch to working landscape mode that the app becomes particularly interesting.

On its side, Taposé splits your iPad screen in two and enables you to run a different component of the app on each side. So you might use one side to browse the web for research, and use the other to make notes in the word processor. This is handy, but you can also drag and drop elements from one side to the other, so if you come across a web site you would like to make a note of, you can drag and drop it into a document and a snippet will be instantly added for you.

All of this is made even more useful thanks to the fact that Taposé is cloud aware. You are provided with 400MB of online storage space which opens up the possibility of collaborative work. There is also talk of Android and web-based versions of the app, so you will be able to access your data from a number of different devices in the future.

The app isn’t perfect, but it is interesting and it is worth investing $2.99 to see where this intriguing piece of software goes.

You can find out more by paying a visit to the Taposé review page.

There are plenty of PC monitoring programs that aim to keep an eye on your running processes, and carry out some actions if things seem to be going wrong (PC Lasso is an excellent example). Testing these tools can be a problem, though, as you can’t safely make regular programs hang or lock up on demand.

But then that’s where Bad Application comes in.

This tiny portable program (an 11KB download) provides a simple interface that allows it to emulate a misbehaving application. And so if you have a tool that should react to a hung application, say, there’s no need to wait for one of your normal programs to hang. Just launch Bad Application, click “Hang Process”, the program will immediately lock up while grabbing 10 percent of your CPU time, and you can watch how your monitoring tool reacts.

Or maybe you’ve installed a tool that logs or tries to help with process crashes? Again, normally that’s hard to test as you can’t generally crash programs on demand (not safely, at least). But Bad Application is different: click Crash Process and it’ll fail immediately.

You can also change Bad Application’s process priority with a click, handy if you’d like to check how a monitoring tool reacts.

You’re able to flash the application’s title bar at a click.

And, for some reason, you’re also able to terminate Explorer. It should simply restart, but this is the one option which may cause problems if the process is in the middle of doing something, so we’d recommend avoiding clicking “Terminate Explorer” unless you have good reason to do otherwise.

Plainly Bad Application really isn’t a program that most people will want to use every day. If you regularly work with or try out new system monitoring applications then the ability to, say, hang the tool at the click of a button could be very useful, though. And if you’re a programmer then the news is even better, as the download includes the C++ source that can easily be extended to add new capabilities of your own.

Photo Credit: HitToon.Com/Shutterstock

We have talked a lot about cloud computing recently here on the pages of BetaNews. That's not surprising since it is one of the fastest growing segments of the tech industry today. Missing, however: A more personal story on how we're using the cloud in our day-to-day business.

I run a small freelance writing and media consulting business out of my home, Oz Media Inc. While being my own boss is fun, it also requires me to be owner, CEO, CFO, IT administrator, and employee. It's a company of one. Cloud computing has definitely paid off and made running my business a lot easier, and here's why.

1. Cloud computing reduces my technology expenses. I do not have a large budget, nor room for error when it comes to technology purchases. I can buy only what I truly, truly need, and this is common across every small business. If I can push something to the cloud, say backups or files which I've done with iCloud it is generally much cheaper than purchasing physical hardware and has freed up revenue for other necessary expenses.

In fact, the iCloud free storage at 5GB is enough to store a good majority of my work file backups. That's a huge benefit.

How much money am I saving as a result of the cloud? It's difficult to quantify, but I would venture to guess in my small outfit it's into the hundreds if not thousands every year. That is more profit in my pocket, which is the ultimate goal of any business owner (see #5 for some specifics).

2. My data is accessible anywhere. Going "to the cloud" gives me mobility. As I've expanded out to a multi-device solution -- desktop, laptop, and tablet -- I am running into issues about data being on one device but not the others. Using the cloud allows me to start the work on one and finish it on another.

I write some of my stories using Google Docs. I can submit them to my editors wherever they may be and we can collaborate on the document in real time, saving a good deal of time over sending edits via email.

3. I scale my IT needs as needed. The great thing about depending on the cloud for your IT needs is the fact that there isn't a commitment. When you buy hardware and software, there is a set price you pay whether you use it until you break it, or once and never again. With cloud services, the choice is there to stop using something you don't need at any time, and limit costs.

For example, before I could afford QuickBooks software, I used a combination of Freshbooks and Outright to handle the tracking of invoicing and bookkeeping. Together these two services cost me less than $10 per month.

4. It's a breeze to manage. Large-scale IT deployments require an administrator to keep everything in tip-top shape. In small businesses, you're a man with many hats. Cloud services have made managing aspects of my business, like collaboration services (Google Apps), easy enough for somebody who isn't a true expert on IT. More money saved.

5. It's platform independent. As stated previously, I run several devices. Here's the thing though -- these devices run three different platforms. The desktop is a Mac, the laptop a Dell, and the tablet an iPad. Cloud services like Google Apps are platform agnostic, which eliminates the need for multiple versions of software for the same program.

Let's use productivity software as an example here. If I had to purchase the software for each of the platforms, it would cost me $60 for the Mac for iWork, $30 for iWork for the iPad, and at least $150 for Microsoft Office for the Dell if it was not included already. That's $240 for software -- and with Google Docs, which works on every platform, its completely free.

This short list doesn't cover all the benefits to working in the cloud. I'd like to open this up to other small business owners who are using the cloud in their day-to-day work, though. What are the biggest benefits for you? Let us know in the comments.

Photo Credit: Digital Storm/Shutterstock

Sometimes when dealing with the so-called Mac faithful -- diehard users who relentlessly demean and attack anyone (reporters, particularly) who doesn't share their unquestioning enthusiasm -- I think of the "Walking Dead"; TV show or comic, it's your choice. Nothing stops their relentless, mindless walk. As if there weren't zombies enough, cybercriminals have unleashed another kind that is much worse.

Late last week, I started following progress of a new Trojan injected via rogue Java applet. Flashback is a variant of older malware and Apple issued a patch, so I chose not to write about it. Whoa, that was a mistake. Yesterday, Russian security firm Dr. Web claimed that more than 600,000 Macs are infected and part of a sophisticated botnet. Cybercriminals have amassed a sizable army of zombie Macs. Let me take a moment to welcome Mac users to zombieland -- a place many Windows users have lived for years.

No One is Safe

Trojans are nothing new, they're just not as common on Mac OS as Windows, but they're increasingly common enough for concern. For all the other Mac zombies -- let's call them the Walking Dead for differentiation -- who claim there is no Mac malware, 600,000-plus is nothing, nothing. Close your eyes and wish them away.

Two May 2011 BetaNews polls found that eight out of 10 Mac users don't have anti-malware installed, while as many Windows users do. I've started the polls anew, to see what's changed, if anything, in 11 months. Please respond to them. The Walking Dead aren't only to blame here as I explained last year: "Apple has created, by asserting things like 'Mac OS X doesn't get PC viruses,' a false sense of Mac security".

"Despite what Apple's marketing department would have you believe, Macs are not invulnerable to attacks and malware targeting OS X does exist", security consultant Adrian Sanabria explains. "Our main takeaway from [Flashback] should be that many Mac users have been lured into a false sense of security, and will be, or may already be, in for a rude awakening".

Think about something. From where is the Mac install base growing? Windows users. Apple executives consistently say that half of Mac buyers are Windows users. As Mac Defender showed last year, successful Mac malware uses the same social engineering techniques common to Windows PCs. Windows users bring bad habits to the Mac, which Mac Defender showed can be exploited as easily on Apple computers as Windows PCs.

Then there is the Walking Dead and other long-time Mac users who aren't accustomed to their computers being assaulted. They're naive and leave the windows open and doors unlocked, so to speak. They feel safe when they shouldn't and don't know what behavior creates risk. Yes, I'm generalizing, but the point is valid.

Risks increase with malware success. Botnets this size are self-propogating. Cyberciminals can use a large botnet to attack and infect other computers. Can this one be taken down? We shall see.

Is anti-malware software installed on your primary home Macintosh?

 

Is anti-malware software installed on your primary home Windows PC?

Flashback to Terror

Initially, Dr. Web reported 550,000 Macs in the botnet but later updated the number to more than 600,000, get this, with "274 bots from Cupertino" -- the city presumably referring to Apple, as it's common shorthand.

SEO poisoning spread the last big malware outbreak. Similarly, Flashback spreads through compromised websites. Dr. Web explains:

Systems get infected with BackDoor.Flashback.39 after a user is redirected to a bogus site from a compromised resource or via a traffic distribution system. JavaScript code is used to load a Java-applet containing an exploit. Doctor Web's virus analysts discovered a large number of web-sites containing the code.

More than half of the compromised computers are in the United States and more than three quarters in North America.

More specifically, how are Macs infected? Security vendor F-Secure explains:

Trojan-Downloader:OSX/Flashback.I is dropped by malicious Java applets that exploit the known CVE-2011-3544 vulnerability.

On execution, the malware will prompt the unsuspecting user for the administrator password. Whether or not the user inputs the administrator password, the malware will attempt to infect the system, though entering the password will affect how the infection is done.

If infection is successful, the malware will modify the contents of certain webpages displayed by web browsers; the specific webpages targeted and changes made are determined based on configuration information retrieved by the malware from a remote server.

F-Secure also offers detailed instructions to detect and remove Flashback.

Apple has patched the vulnerability but took six weeks doing so. Meanwhile, like Mac Defender, new Flashback variants spread. Will you be a Mac zombie, or are you one already? Now might be a good time to invest in a Mac anti-malware app.

Mobile app developer WeaverMobile USA announced on Thursday that its formerly iOS-exclusive photography management app PhotoBox! has launched on Android.

The application can be thought of as "Lightroom for Facebook," giving users the ability to find, manage, add effects to, and share photos posted to Facebook, as well as perform batch uploads and downloads, to tag/untag, like/unlike, and comment. It provides a pretty robust toolkit for editing photos, adding filters, drawing, and adding text.

"PhotoBox! continues to be the only all-in-one photo app that supports searching, managing, editing and sharing images on Facebook," said Raymond Wei, co-founder of Weaver Mobile. "Facebook users are becoming increasingly mobile, and we are excited to bring the PhotoBox! app to the hands of Android owners everywhere."

But with the recent addition of Instagram to the Android family, PhotoBox provides an important gap-bridging solution.

Instagram photos, famously can't be stored directly on the phone's SD card. What they can do is be automatically posted to Facebook. Through Facebook, PhotoBox! can actually download all your Instagram photos back to your phone's SD card. It's kind of a convoluted way to do things, but hey, it exists.

Here's how to save Instagram photos to SD via PhotoBox!

Instagram should be set to post to your Facebook Timeline in an album called "Instagram Photos"
Click on the cloud icon in this album in PhotoBox!
Prompt will say "Are you sure you want to download all photos in album Instagram Photos?"
Click OK twice

Click on "Saved Photos"
Click on the blue arrow on the saved album "Instagram Photos"
Prompt will ask if you want to Delete Album or Export Album to Camera Roll
Click Export, confirm action
PhotoBox will say "Saved to your Phone SD."

This first version has proven to be somewhat crashy, and the "save to SD" feature does not work on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (since it doesn't have SD memory), however we got this feature to work on a first generation Droid, and files were saved to the directory /mnt/sdcard/PhotoBox. Please let us know what results you get with other Android devices.

Download PhotoBox! now in Google Play!

Mobile app developer WeaverMobile USA announced on Thursday that its formerly iOS-exclusive photography management app PhotoBox! has launched on Android.

The application can be thought of as "Lightroom for Facebook," giving users the ability to find, manage, add effects to, and share photos posted to Facebook, as well as perform batch uploads and downloads, to tag/untag, like/unlike, and comment. It provides a pretty robust toolkit for editing photos, adding filters, drawing, and adding text.

"PhotoBox! continues to be the only all-in-one photo app that supports searching, managing, editing and sharing images on Facebook," said Raymond Wei, co-founder of Weaver Mobile. "Facebook users are becoming increasingly mobile, and we are excited to bring the PhotoBox! app to the hands of Android owners everywhere."

But with the recent addition of Instagram to the Android family, PhotoBox provides an important gap-bridging solution.

Instagram photos, it seems can't be stored directly on the phone's SD card. (Edit: This is a false assumption. Upon closer inspection, we found that Instagram does automatically create a directory on the device's SD for saving copies of edited photos locally. The next section can be used simply to explain the Facebook batch download process.)

Here's how to save Instagram photos to SD via PhotoBox!

Instagram should be set to post to your Facebook Timeline in an album called "Instagram Photos"
Click on the cloud icon in this album in PhotoBox!
Prompt will say "Are you sure you want to download all photos in album Instagram Photos?"
Click OK twice

Click on "Saved Photos"
Click on the blue arrow on the saved album "Instagram Photos"
Prompt will ask if you want to Delete Album or Export Album to Camera Roll
Click Export, confirm action
PhotoBox will say "Saved to your Phone SD."

This first version has proven to be somewhat crashy, and the "save to SD" feature does not work on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (since it doesn't have SD memory), however we got this feature to work on a first generation Droid, and files were saved to the directory /mnt/sdcard/PhotoBox. Please let us know what results you get with other Android devices.

Download PhotoBox! now in Google Play!

Discussion Counterpoint. Colleague Tim Conneally and I got into a heated debate about smartphone comparisons this morning. He has the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone for review (and I -- whaaaaa -- don't). I suggested Tim do a comparison with Google-branded Galaxy Nexus, which we both have. He refused. Tim was quite adamant about it, too. His out-and-out refusal clearly taps into strong feelings about how products are compared.

We bantered back and forth over group chat, with neither of our positions changing. "Buyers make these product comparisons all the time", I expressed late in our debate. "I can see we won't agree. If I had the Lumia 900, I would compare them". But I don't, and Tim won't. So I suggested: "Let's ask the readers...something like: 'Would you like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nokia Lumia 900 compared?'"

I had planned on one story with both our perspectives, but Tim smartly wrote something longer -- hence we have a separate point and counterpoint. Please read his "Stop comparing unlike objects. RIGHT. NOW." Tim makes the case for why we shouldn't write a post/review comparing the two smartphones, while I advocate such comparison. Your feedback is vital to resolving our debate but also illuminating something else: How products are compared. There are lots of dumb comparisons out there, particularly tech products. Would this be one of them?

It's Our Job

Reporters aren't analysts or marketers. Our job isn't to divide the products we write about into tidy little demographic groups. So what if grandmas living on social security in Cleveland are more likely to get free iPhone 3GS, while their grandchildren soaking up sunny Malibu cough up $399 for 64GB iPhone 4S.

Market researchers live for this crap. We aren't Mad Men. We're the last visage of the Fourth Estate, before the Huffington Posts of the world extinguish our breed forever. We write for our readers, who love gadgets and compare many different products by measures that defy demographic modeling. Aggregators and marketers present varnished perspectives. We present the raw wood, with no blemishes covered (so that someone can better put one over the other to sell something).

Helicopters and Motorcycles

Tim contends that from the demographic perspective, the two smartphones aren't comparable -- that they appeal to different people. "Comparing them would be like comparing a
helicopter to a motorcycle because they both run on gasoline", he writes. Price is one reason ($299.99 for Galaxy Nexus and $99.99 for Lumia 900) and segmentation another (the Android handset appeals to bleeding-edge enthusiasts and the Windows Phone to the mass-market). That reasoning is a bunch of Android apologist horse poo-poo.

Galaxy Nexus and Lumia 900 is a fair comparison, because many BetaNews readers will do so in choosing one over the other. Google "Galaxy Nexus vs Lumia 900" or "Which is better Galaxy Nexus or Lumia 900?" There are comparisons out there already and for a reason. People want them, which is good enough for me.

Tim contends that in part because of price Galaxy Nexus "was not --and is still not-- a mass market device". Really? So what, Google, Samsung and Verizon partnered to sell the smartphone to 100 people? This is Google's flagship phone -- of course, the goal is to sell many of them.

By Any Other Name a Smartphone

Galaxy Nexus isn't a helicopter and Lumia 900 a motorcycle. They are LTE smartphones sold nearby one another in stores like Best Buy. They would be in a carrier's store if AT&T or Verizon sold both. Falling back to hollow out the market position thing, the segment that matters most here is smartphone -- people shopping for one and making decisions on lots of similar criteria: Battery life, brand, camera, carrier, data speed, ease of use, operating system and size, among many similar attributes.

Best Buy also sells many different televisions alongside one another. By the no-comparison reasoning, no budget shopper would ever consider the $1,200 big-screen TV over a $500 model. People make product decisions every day based on all kinds of different criteria. A friend of mine recently compared the Fuji X10 and X100 digital cameras. The X10 sells for around $600 and the X100 for $1,200. One is an advanced point-and-shoot camera, while the costlier model is more for amateurs and pros. Their target segments are different, yet there is much overlap in features and appearance. By Tim's reasoning, my friend would never have compared them.

My other reasons for comparing the phones have little to do with product segmentation or buyer demographics:

• Pitting flagship phones -- Google's and Nokia's -- against one another
• Platform vs platform -- Ice Cream Sandwich, Windows Phone 7.5 Commercial Release 2
• Nokia vs Samsung -- the old smartphone market share leader takes on the rising upstart
• Google vs Microsoft, which offer radically different philosophies on mobile digital lifestyles

Those are enough reasons for now. But are they reason enough? I say Galaxy Nexus and Lumia 900 is a fair comparison. Tim disagrees. What do you say?

Discussion Point. Joe Wilcox asked me to write an article comparing the Nokia Lumia 900 to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. I refused. Here is why. Read Joe's response.

Anyone who knows about marketing should readily understand market segmentation: it is a way of isolating customers/users/consumers by type. It could be geographically, it could be demographically, it could be psychographically, or it could be through some other defining characteristic.

By now, the United States smartphone market is mature, and there are no fewer than a dozen smartphone segments. You've got enterprise users, high volume texters, Web searchers, app store gamers, camera snappers, music streamers, music collectors, fashion accessorizers, and more. Each of these segments can be broken up by buying power, by location on the tech adoption curve, by age, gender, race, and so on, ad infinitesimum.

With that in mind, I don't think the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Nokia Lumia 900 should be compared because their segments don't line up closely enough. Yes, they're both LTE smartphones, but in my book, that's not enough. Comparing them would be like comparing a helicopter to a motorcycle because they both run on gasoline.

The Galaxy Nexus was the first Ice Cream Sandwich device in an exlusive line of "with Google" smartphones, clearly targeting early adopters above all else by offering a whole bunch of new, relatively untested features to poke around with, as well as a totally new UI that hybridized two previous Android versions.

Furthermore, the Galaxy Nexus launched at the upmarket price of $299.99.

It was not --and is still not-- a mass market device.

The Nokia Lumia 900 is priced to be accessible to a wider swath of consumers, its hardware and storage features suggest it favors the "picture snapper" type of user, and the design/color options suggest a younger audience. These are not Galaxy Nexus users.

Product comparisons are fine, but don't let the urge to compare two things blind you to the obvious differences between them.

Photo Credit: North Fond du Lac Police Department

Where can you get the iPhone other than AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint? Plenty of places, as long as you're not on T-Mobile.

A host of regional wireless carriers announced Wednesday that they will carry the iPhone in a move that may surprise some industry watchers. This includes Waynesboro, Va.-based nTelos, Green Bay, Wisc.-based Cellcom, and Anchorage, Alaska's Alaska Communications. The regionals will offer the iPhone 4 and 4S at a $50 discount to the major carriers, and join southern US regional carrier C Spire, who has offered the iPhone since October of last year.

The 16GB 4S will sell for $150, the 32GB for $250, and the 64GB for $350, and the iPhone 4 for $50. On all three carriers, the phone debuts on April 20. Apple typically holds strict control over pricing, so the discount strategy is surprising.

nTelos is a regional carrier that has about 400,000 subscribers across Virginia, West
Virginia and portions of Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky. nTelos offers an unlimited smartphone plan with voice, text, and data for $90 per month, and an unlimited family plan for two lines for $10 more. Additional lines are $30 each.

Cellcom provides service to subscribers across Michigan and Wisconsin. It offers an individual unlimited calling plan for $70 per month, with additional lines available for $50 per month. The carrier offers a bundle of unlimited texting and data allotments of 75MB, 300MB, 2GB, and 5GB for $15, $30, $40, and $65; for family plans it's either 2GB or 5GB for $40 and $120 for up to four lines.

Finally, Alaska Communications is the smallest operator of the three, serving less than 100,000 customers across Alaska. Its Nationwide Unlimited plan (without texting) includes 2GB of data for $90 per month: for $11 more you get 5GB of data and unlimited texting.

The regional carrier's ability to offer the iPhone $50 cheaper now may signal an impending price cut across the majors as well. If this happens, such a move would be unprecedented in Apple's history. The Cupertino, Calif. company adjusts prices upon the debut of a new model, not midstream.

On the other hand, the mobile phone sector is extremely competitive and Apple's stick-to-your-guns strategy isn't as effective here. Manufacturers and carriers always play with price to keep sales up. This could be the first signs of a change at Apple with Cook at the helm: willing to play on the same turf its competitors have been doing for years: price.

Still missing is any plans on when or if the iPhone will come to T-Mobile: the nation's fourth largest carrier is left out in the cold once again. Much of this is the carrier's fault itself as it uses the AWS bands for its 3G/4G service, a setup uncommon in worldwide cellular deployments. That will be remedied soon.

The company has announced that as part of its rollout of LTE services next year, and the spectrum gained from the failed merger with AT&T, T-Mobile USA will begin to reassign 3G spectrum to the common frequency bands used by AT&T and others. LTE would then use the AWS spectrum. This will allow the carrier to fully support the iPhone, as well as many other popular devices.

Until then, T-Mobile is forced to continue to wait while customers of smaller carriers eat its lunch. For executives of a company that needs a shot in the behind, it has got to be maddening.

iPhone Idolators, please meet the Android Army. Now retreat! Android's share of the US smartphone market topped 50 percent in February, according to comScore. iOS gained share but trails considerably -- by like 20 points. You can have your iPhone, but many more Americans take Android. I'm waiting. What's your smarty-pants response to that, Apple apologists?

The findings butt against those from Nielsen -- a life raft of apology for those insisting iPhone will rule the world. Last week, Nielsen reported a huge surge in the number of new purchasers choosing iPhones compared to Android. For the three months ending in February, 48 percent of Americans who recently bought a smartphone, chose Android -- 43 percent iPhone, according to Nielsen. A year earlier, 27 percent of new acquirers chose Android versus 10 percent for iPhone.

comScore reports share for overall market, not new purchasers. During the three months ending in February, Android share was 50.1 percent among smartphone subscribers 13 and older -- that's up 3.2 points. iOS: 30.2 percent, up 5 points year over year and 1.5 points three months earlier. Those numbers are fairly consistent with Nielsen's: 48 percent for Android and 32 percent for iOS.

Fifty percent is a big number and puts iPhone in potentially perennial second place -- unless Android suddenly loses share. There's nothing in comScore, Nielsen or any other analyst data that remotely suggests a reversal. Android's dramatic growth slowed following the release of iPhone 4S in October, but there's no reversal in growth or share gains.

Something else: Where Android and iOS gains come from. Microsoft and Research in Motion mobile operating systems lost share (again), 1.3 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively -- or nearly what Android and iOS gained. BlackBerry's downward trend seems unstoppable. Windows Phone is uncertain, given the arrival of hot, new LTE models, led by the Nokia Lumia 900. RIM can't give up share forever.

Where Apple apologists can find solace is the one-against-many argument -- iPhone alone shows tremendous gains against dozens of Androids. Among them, Samsung is smartphone leader, with 25.6 percent share, which is flat over three months. Second-ranked LG lost 1.1 points to 19.4 percent share, while Apple gained 2.3 points to 13.5 percent share. Apple gains pushed Motorola to fourth place, with 12.8 percent share.

But nothing gets past Android's 50 percent, which comes as the US smartphone market approaches its saturation point and growth gains slow down for the leaders. Over three months, the number of Americans owning a smartphone rose 14 percent -- to 104 million, or 44 percent of all handset owners. iPhone would need to make dramatic gains against Android for all of 2012 to close the distance. At the current smartphone adoption rate, saturation is perhaps coming within 18 months.

Considering that major carriers require two-year contractual agreements and more people will have recently purchased new smartphones then not, saturation is on track to lock in share for the major competitors sometime next year. If Windows Phone is to gain anything, new LTE models coming now must bring it while BlackBerry can still give up share. There's nothing in comScore, Nielsen or any other analyst data to suggest Androids or iPhone will relinquish anything.

Apple apologists can dance on BlackBerry's grave and laugh at (what they consider to be) Windows Phone dorks. But Android rules the world -- well, at least these United States.

Probably my favorite picture with the Lumia 900 so far, the reds are reproduced faithfully here.

Colored Pencils to illustrate accuracy and depth of color

Taken to show crispness of detail, filtered with Nokia's Creative Studio app

Macro mode in low light. This statuette is only 4" tall. Only edit is cropping and rotation.

Taken to show focus depth.

Set to ISO 400, flash on, no other lights on in the room.

Generic outdoor shot in overcast lighting conditions, auto ISO and white balance

Ginny is black with a brown/brindle undercoat. The real-life shade often doesn't show up in pictures

chosen for shiny packages, bright colors, vanishing point

One of the qualities of the Nokia Lumia 900 that I singled out in my favorable review of the device was its camera, which I described as "special." In the slideshow above, I've included the photos I snapped that helped me arrive at that conclusion.

The most impressive features of the camera sensor are its depth of color and its macro mode, which are reproduced in several of the slides above.

As I said in the review, I am an unabashedly awful photographer, and the fact that these pictures turned out looking as good as they did is remarkable. The picture of the dead tree was literally the first picture I took with the Lumia 900's rear camera.

If you’re unhappy with the composition of a photo then your first instinct may be to crop it, removing areas without important visual content to help the viewer concentrate on whatever is left. But this can only go so far. And if there’s plenty of content at the edge of the photo then you may hardly be able to crop the image at all.

Content-aware image resizing (CAIR) provides another, more intelligent way to reframe your shot. Essentially it allows you to define content you’d like to remove from a photo, wherever it might be, and can then strip it out (hopefully without leaving any trace). And as a result the image will shrink in size, sometimes dramatically, but you still retain the core content. (If you’re not sure what we mean then the relevant Wikipedia page has some sample images which should make everything clear.)

Unfortunately, while standard linear image resizing is very simple to implement, CAIR is much more challenging, which is why you’ll generally only find the technology in high-end tools such as Photoshop. But if you’d like to try it out for yourself then the open source Seam Carving GUI will give you a basic idea at no cost.

Once you’ve opened your sample images then the program allows you to mark areas you’d like to keep, and areas that really must go, simply by painting over them. The interface makes this more awkward than it should be, but zooming in and adjusting the brush size will help you to precisely define the areas you’re working with.

You can then enter the new dimensions for your image, if you’ve a target size in mind. But if that doesn’t matter, simply click Remove and the program will immediately resize the photo to strip out your unwanted content.

The results can be, well, variable. Resizing a beach photo didn’t work at all, for instance, as image artefacts in the sea made our tweaking very clear. But with simpler backgrounds -- sand, grass -- the final image was much better, and we also had success in more surprising areas (removing a few people from a party photo, for instance).

And if you explore the program then there are tweaks you can make to improve results, such as working with masks or trying different edge detectors.

Seam Carving GUI still doesn’t get close to achieving the quality of results you’ll get from Photoshop and other high-end editors, which is no great surprise. It can work well sometimes, though, depending on your source material, and if you don’t have anything else capable of content-aware image resizing then you may find the program useful.

Photo Credit: Laborant/Shutterstock

On April 4, 2011, Larry Page returned as Google's chief executive after a decade's repast. In his first year back on the job, Google has dramatically changed. I planned to write a massive reflective story, but thought it'd be better if you did. A story with your assessment of Page and Google will be more interesting, and revealing, about the company and perceptions about it. I'll collect your comments here and put them together into a follow-up post. To get you started, I'll do a quickie review of Google over the last 12 months and call out a few highlights.

At the start of 2011, I called it the "year of Google", and it was. Much credit belongs to Page as he axed services not core to the Google lifestyle, acquired Motorola Mobility and refocused the company on rapid iteration. Just look how far Android and Chrome advanced over the last 12 months or how quickly Google+ went from conception to 100 million-plus users. If 2011 wasn't the year of Larry Page, 2012 will be. But will you like it, or what he has done to Google?

Below I've gathered some Google highlights to remind you what a year it has been. The list is by no means inclusive, but covers a wide range of events.

June 2011

• Acer and Samsung Chromebooks go up for sale.
• Google+ debutes as invite-only social network.
• Google defends its monopoly position, in response to a Federal Trade Commission investigation. Many of the arguments remind of Microsoft in the late 1990s.

July 2011

• Google releases first tools that allow users to extract their data from its services, in an affront to Facebook.
• Google+ reaches 20 million users.
• Google Labs closes.
• Logitech loses $30 million on Google TV. Cuts price of Revue set-top box to $99 and takes massive charge.

August 2011

• Google buys Motorola Mobility.
• Justice Department finds Google knowingly permitted Canadian pharmacies to peddle cheap drugs through AdWords. The search giant is fined $500 million.

September 2011

• Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt testifies before Congress. Legislators are concerned about the search giant's monopoly position.

October 2011

• Los Angeles seeks refund on $7.25 million Google Apps deal.
• Google unveils "Ice Cream Sandwich" Android 4 and Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

November 2011

• Logitech abandons Google TV.
• Google Music launches. Stream music anywhere, as long as you're willing to upload tracks first.

December 2011

• Schmidt says Google will release branded tablet within six months.
• Google "Currents" e-zine launches. It's slow and buggy.
• Google Nexus arrives in the United States, finally, on Verizon.

January 2012

• Google reduces Chrome page rank after video ads violate terms of service.
• Google Plus Your World launches. The personalized, social search function raises antitrust concerns, in part because of Google's aggressive, cross-integration of features.
• Electronic Privacy Information Center urges the FTC to investigate Google privacy violations.

February 2012

• Chrome loses usage share after 11 straight months of gains, after Google reduces the browser's page rank.
• Google+ tops 100 million users.
• Chrome for Android 4.x enters beta.
• Google bypasses Safari privacy settings, setting off more controversy about "doing evil".
• Google adds collaboration to Docs for Android -- a feature that should have been there from the start.

March 2012

• Google adopts controversial privacy policy. Information sharing across Google services puts some governments' regulatory agencies and end users in a row.
• FTC asks Apple to provide information about Google services integration into iOS.
• Google Go programming language reaches version 1.

One reason I chose not to write a retrospective today is this analysis from last week, which more or less is one looking at the increased cross-integration of products and services since Page returned as CEO.

So how would you rate Page's first year? At the least, please use a 1-to-5 scale, with the higher number being more satisfactorily. Better: Offer your quick assessment of Google and what it means to you -- or doesn't -- and, of course, Larry Page.

This could be the easiest review I've ever written: The Nokia Lumia 900 is absolutely top-notch hardware at an affordable price, and it has everything it takes to be a giant success.

Last week, we established that 60% of BetaNews readers want this phone, and you know what? After one week with this device, I can conclusively say that our readers' desire to own the Lumia 900 is completely warranted.

Here are my four main reasons:

It is rock solid- The Gorilla Glass front, and the one-piece chassis of the Lumia 900 may result in a slight increase in weight and thickness as you can see in the photograph to the left, but the tradeoff is a body that feels like it can take a ton of abuse. For a $99 mass market device, this is an amazing feat. As an Android user, I have dealt with a large number of devices with cheap-feeling chassis. Often this is done by manufacturers to save money, other times it's to shave down the overall weight of their device. It is clear that this device is not kidding around. Part of me wanted to take it to the firing range and see how it could stand up to a rifle round.

The still camera is something special-- Check out the pictures I took with the Lumia 900, and bear in mind that I am the world's worst photographer. Seriously, I make everything look terrible. The proof is all over BetaNews. Look at an article with a bad picture, and the chances are good that I took it. But the Lumia 900's 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual-LED flash somehow manages to make my zero-skill photos look sharp and vivid. Its 720p video capture didn't knock my socks off as much as the still camera, but it does a decent job in adequate light, and lets you record with the dual LED lamp turned on in situations where light may be less than ideal.

It actually works as a phone!-- Though the role of the good old voice phonecall is gradually diminishing, the Lumia 900 is capable of nice, clear voice calls. Though the earpiece is mounted on the front of the phone, it is aimed slightly upward, so you will have to hold the phone a little lower than you might be used to (depending, of course, upon what device you're currently using.)

Windows Phone is smooth and responsive-- Here is where we encounter the Lumia's contentious bone. Maybe you don't like the Windows Phone interface, maybe you do. I can certainly agree with complaints that the Metro UI has received, at least in terms of utilization of screen real estate, customization, and overall aesthetic. However, it runs smoothly and is instantly responsive to touch, it is easily navigable, and there isn't the action lag you sometimes get with cheaper smartphones. I do find myself wishing that this phone came with an Android option, but that's just my personal bias. For the mainstream consumer and first-time smartphone user, the Windows Phone experience is going to impress on this device...it just needs a few more amazing platform-defining applications to mitigate user complaint. One has to wonder how differently Windows Phone would be perceived today if it had launched with a device like the Lumia 900 back in 2010 instead of 10 forgettable, selfsame HTC, Samsung, and LG smartphones (Dell Venue Pro notwithstanding.)

Conclusion: I feel I must reiterate that this is NOT AN UPMARKET DEVICE! By pricing the Lumia 900 at just $99, Nokia is targeting the mass market consumer. Yet with a solid body, solid camera, nice screen, and 4G connectivity, the hardware value is unquestionably through the roof. The mass market is getting an impressively well-rounded device. Whether or not the software backs up that value is up to the individual user and what he needs his phone and related Web services to do. For me, those qualities pass too, despite my love for the little green robot.

Some people see WYSIWYG web builders as basic, limited, strictly for novice home users who’ll be satisfied with the poor quality templates and limited customisation options they usually offer.

Xara Web Designer MX 8 Premium, fortunately, has a very different philosophy.

Sure, there is a strong focus on ease of use, but Xara hasn’t forgotten that quality matters, too. So the program’s professionally designed multi-page templates get you off to a good start; Xara’s years of experience with desktop publishing means they’re all exceptionally customizable; and the ability to embed YouTube videos, Google maps, PayPal buttons, contact forms, social networking features and more will help you to produce stylish sites that will appeal to a wide audience.

And there’s also some depth here, with far more functionality than you’ll find in most similar products. You get support for building Flash animations, for instance, or creating page and layer transition effects, and the excellent web presentation tools make it easy to create and showcase professional presentations. If you’re looking to build something more than just a simple, personal website then Web Designer definitely merits a closer look.

Attractive Templates

The creative process starts with you browsing the Designs Gallery, where you’ll find Web Designer’s website templates. There are only 40 of these, and they aren’t presented particularly well (you can’t easily compare designs side by side). Most of them look reasonably attractive, though  (see for yourself here) and they’re also multi-page, with built-in navigation, so just by double-clicking your preferred template you’ll immediately have a working website.

You’ll still have to provide your own content, of course, but that’s easy enough. Click in a text area and start typing to add your own words; right-click an image and select “Replace” to insert your own photos; drag and drop a new color scheme from the Designs Gallery if you don’t like the default, and so on.

And it really is that straightforward, too, thanks to Web Designer 8′s more intelligent approach to resizing text areas. There’s no longer any need to manually reposition objects or drag the bottom of the page down as content grows; the program now automatically handles this for you, so it all feels very natural, just like working in a word processor.

If you’d like to get a little more creative, though, then the Design Gallery also includes clipart, photos, icons, headings, buttons, navigation bars and more. With over 3,000 items of high-quality clipart and photo objects alone it’s surprisingly comprehensive. And adding items to a page is, for the most part, just a matter of dragging and dropping, with the program even asking if you’d like to adapt an object’s color scheme to match the website. Although there are still occasional complications, here and there (replacing your template’s navigation bar with another, say, can be a challenge).

Alternatively, expert users can always start with a blank page and build their site from scratch. And if you’re looking to start with another design then Web Designer now claims improved import from the web, PPTX, ODP and PDF files. We’re still not overly impressed, web import remains slow and unreliable, but if you just need to extract the text and graphics from a page then it could still be useful.

Adding Interactivity

Web Designer can add interactivity to your sites via its “widgets”, essentially chunks of custom HTML that embed all kinds of features into your sites: media players, RSS feeds, slideshows, Facebook and Twitter gadgets, chatrooms, forums and more. Most options just open web pages which you then need to configure to produce the results you need -- the Google Search widget takes you here, for instance -- so there’s nothing too advanced involved, but it’s still a useful feature which can extend your site in many different ways.

The Premium edition of Web Designer extends these with a handy QR Code widget, enabling you to convey a line of text or URL to any mobile scanning device. And a well-designed Chart widget allows you to create column, bar and areas charts (both regular and stacked), line charts, pie graphs and more, each of which use mouseover events to display the underlying figures (see Xara’s example charts to get a feel for the finished results).

And the Premium edition’s Presentations feature is almost as impressive. You only get 13 templates, but they’re all nicely done, with professional animations and transitions to show you what’s possible. As with the websites, they’re easily customisable to suit your needs. And there’s a very convenient addition in the new slide navigation menu. Move your mouse to the bottom left of the slideshow and you’ll find Previous, Home and Next buttons, as well as a menu of the entire presentation so you can jump to whatever slide you like.

New Features

We’ve detailed a few of the new Web Designer MX 8 Premium features already, but there are plenty of others.

Support for text styles is one notable addition. If you’ve spent a while choosing the precise font, size, style and color for a banner headline, say, you can now create a style based on all those attributes. Select the banner on another page, give it that style and it’ll be updated immediately. And if you decide later that the bright green text doesn’t quite work after all, change the style and everything with that style applied (across all your pages) will be updated immediately. Which all works well enough, although the template sites aren’t styled by default, so to use this feature you’ll have to create styles and apply them manually (wherever appropriate) to each page.

Web Designer Premium MX 8 now also supports Microsoft’s Embedded OpenType (EOT), which means that if you use a non-web-safe font on a page then the program can embed this in your site. Sounds good, but of course this generates more files to download (embedding “Broadway” added 118KB to our test page, for instance). And if your visitors aren’t using IE then they may not be able to see the font anyway, so this may be a feature to ignore.

There’s better news with the new Live Effects tool, which allows you to apply Photoshop plug-in effects to both bitmap and vector graphics. Especially as you get 40 filters thrown in (sharpens, blurs, color tweaks, deformations, and a great art filter, amongst others).

And the program has plenty of welcome smaller features, everywhere you look. Bullet or numbered lists can now use your choice of bullet or number character, for instance. You’re at last able to set the frame rate of AVI animations. And layer animations now take advantage of hardware acceleration on iOS devices, delivering faster, smoother results.

Put it all together and Web Designer MX 8 Premium retains a good balance of features, then, with plenty here to keep experienced users happy, while still remaining easy enough for beginners to handle. So if you’re looking to build a website with the minimum of hassle then we’d recommend taking the trial for a spin, just to see how much you can achieve.

If your needs are basic, though, keep in mind that Xara also produces a standard Web Designer MX 8 edition. This drops a lot of advanced features -- presentations, animations, Live Effects/ Photoshop plugin support, HTML5 video, the chart widget and a lot of content, amongst others -- but it’s half the price, and could be a more sensible choice if you just need to create a straightforward personal site.

The software runs on Windows XP, Vista and 7 -- 32-bit and 64-bit editions -- and lists for $99.99.

Citrix is making its mark on open-source cloud computing, following CloudStack software's release to the Apache Foundation. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based technology company acquired the rights to CloudStack with last year's Cloud.com acquisition. Citrix is a significant contributor to another open-source cloud computing platform called OpenStack, and one of the earliest members.

RackSpace and NASA jointly created OpenStack in 2010. Since that time, the project has amassed nearly 150 contributors including Dell, AMD, Intel, HP and AT&T. It aims to be an alternative to Amazon Web Services, which is a popular platform for IT deployments looking to embrace the cloud.

CloudStack differs from OpenStack in that it offers Amazon Web Services support, which Citrix sees a necessity. The company also aims to become the Red Hat of cloud computing by offering a commercially supported version of CloudStack.

As we've seen from Red Hat's recent announcement of becoming open source's first $1 billion company, those subscription revenues can play a big part in generating revenue.

"We believe the biggest winners in the cloud era will be clouds built on a platform that is designed from the ground up with a true Amazon-style architecture, proven at scale in real production clouds, compatible with the Amazon architecture and fully committed to open source", Citrix's cloud platforms head Sameer Dholakia says.

He believes the move puts CloudStack in a good position to become an industry standard for cloud computing. The project already has some big names behind it: GoDaddy and Zynga both use CloudStack in their own IT deployments.

Dholakia says that OpenStack is not stable enough to handle large scale deployments, and points to the fact that CloudStack is about one to two years ahead of OpenStack when it comes to development. Partnering with Amazon for the cloud API makes sense because AWS has already become all but a standard in the industry.

OpenStack will continue to push its own cloud APIs, which certainly seems as if it will put it at a competitive disadvantage. Citrix will continue to support OpenStack, but it appears to be in a backhanded manner. The company plans a "seven figure investment" in engineering, community involvement, and marketing for CloudStack, so any contributions to OpenStack are likely to be minimal.

Not everyone is happy with the move, as Citrix treating Amazon's cloud APIs as gold could amount to giving the company license to define the cloud computing industry. "AWS APIs are fine… for Amazon", tweets Sam Johnston, Director, Cloud & IT Services at Equinix.

Photo Credit: Tom Wang/Shutterstock

Instagram dutifully led the charge of vintage camera filter apps, but did so as an iOS exclusive since its beginnings in 2010.

Today, after effectively "conquering" iOS by being named Apple's iPhone app of the year for 2011, Instagram has moved onto the next great frontier, the Android platform.

The free application can be downloaded in Google Play now.

"For the over 30 million people already using Instagram, this is a big step forward for the community as a whole. When we started working on Instagram, we tried to imagine what the world would be like if every single person on earth could share the world around them through the lens on their phones. With the release of Instagram for Android, we’re one step closer to making that goal a reality. Now, more of your friends and family can share their lives, and follow yours, through a series of beautiful images," the Instagram blog said on Tuesday.

Like the iPhone version, users of Instagram for Android can snap pictures, apply various filters and borders, and then post them to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare and to the Instagr.am feeds of your friends.

That being said, it's not EXACTLY like the iPhone version, as Instagram for Android 1.0 lacks tilt shift/blur, share from feed, live preview and share to Flickr, but these are all promised in future builds.

The application is compatible with all versions of Android beyond 2.2 that have support for OpenGL ES 2.

Taking care of your computer can easily turn into a full time job, so it makes sense to delegate at least some of the responsibility to a third party tool. Uniblue PowerSuite is an impressive collection of maintenance tools that can be used to manage the registry, keep drivers up to date, clean out junk files and much more. The latest addition to the suite is MaxiDisk, a defrag tool that makes it simple to keep your hard drive shipshape -- and there are a few extra options to investigate as well.

At its heart, MaxiDisk is a fairly basic defragmentation tool, but if all you have used in the past is the one that is built into Windows, it is a great leap forward. The analysis process is completed faster than Windows’ defragmenter and you are provided with basic information about the layout of the data on your drive, along with an indication of whether or not defragging is required. The re-organization of files on your disk is something that unavoidably takes time, but it is something that is well worth doing.

There is also a system cleanup tool that can be used to track down junk files that can be remove as well as out of date backups that you may no longer need. The program also offers to compress the largest files on your drive to free up more space. While these are all useful options, they are somewhat oddly positioned after the defragging section in the program interface when it would make much more sense to perform these tasks first.

The final section of the program enables you to decompress any of the files you chose to compress, and it also details information about your computer -- but nothing you cannot determine through the Control Panel. You also have the option of scheduling defragmentation to save you from having to do this manually. Looked at on its own, MaxiDisk is a fairly basis tool ,but when considered as a new component of a larger suite, it’s a great addition.

Whilst Uniblue release a new tool, they appear to have silently cancelled RegistryBooster, which was always one of their more controversial tools. All references to RegistryBooster has disappeared from theUniblue website.

You can find out more and download a free trial of the program by paying a visit to the Uniblue MaxiDisk review page.

Photo Credit: Raimundas/Shutterstock

Genie9 has released the latest edition of its flagship backup tool, Timeline 2012.

The program’s emphasis remains very much on ease of use, but there are some practical new features, too. Genie Timeline’s new Metro-style Smart Selection screen makes it very easy to choose the type of files you’d like to back up for instance: Office files, emails, bookmarks, videos, pictures, whatever it might be.

Backup speeds are claimed to be twice as fast as they were with the previous release. A new internal deduplication algorithm reduces the size of your backup by avoiding storing multiple copies of the same file throughout the archive. 

View your system in Explorer and a backup marker will indicate which folders are being backed up by Timeline 2012.

And additional restoration options make it easier to find and recover files from a backup.

All these additions are available in Genie Timeline Free 2012, and of course the commercial Home ($39.95), Professional ($59.95) and Server ($250) editions add even more: backup scheduling, disaster recovery, an enhanced compression engine, and the ability to limit the size of the backup, amongst other improvements.

Rumors about Google's forthcoming tablet are increasing, which astounds me -- as they portray this as something new. Hey, Google already formally stated it would produce an Android tablet. The rumormongers have got the reasons wrong, too. Google isn't gunning for Apple but Amazon.

The retail giant is by far the biggest competitive threat standing before Android today. Amazon has customized Android, released its own hardware, ditched Google's browser for its own Silk, established a viable app store alternative to Google Play and created a curated user experience that rivals Apple's. In just one quarter, Amazon's Kindle Fire jumped ahead of all other Android tablets, putting it second to iPad. Every Kindle Fire sold is one more brick in the wall blocking the success of the broader Android ecosystem.

I strongly disagree with CNET's Roger Cheng, who asserts: "The worst thing Google could do to its budding Android tablet business is get into it". A branded tablet is the best thing Google can do now for Android tablets.

Kindle Fire burns Android

Amazon announced $199 Kindle Fire in late September 2011 and started selling the media tablet in early November. According to IDC, the retailer shipped 4.7 million Kindle Fires during Q4, jumping to second place market share during the launch quarter. Amazon pushed Samsung down to third place. The Android tablet makers had 16.8 percent and 5.8 percent share, respectively, with Samsung growing from 5.5 percent in third quarter.

Something else: Kindle Fire is largely responsible for Android market share gains -- to 44.6 percent during fourth quarter, up from 32.3 percent three months earlier. During Q4 the two leading tablet operating systems were iOS and Amazon's Android, with combined share of 71.5 percent. Let me restate that: Not Android, but Amazon Android.

Google's tablet has got to get past Kindle Fire before ever touching iPad, which had 54.7 percent market share during fourth quarter, according to IDC.

Amazon's $199 is focus of Google tablet rumors, for good reason. Our polls show that most people don't want to spend more. But there is much more to Kindle Fire's success than price. There are other compelling $199 tablets, such as Lenovo's Ideapad A1, that trail far behind. Price is just table stakes. iPad competitors need more than lower-cost tablets to win.

Fractured Android

What Amazon does right, like Apple, that Google must do: Sell a lifestyle. Amazon prioritizes features and pricing that matter for living one digital lifestyle around its cloud-connected services, rather than offering the latest, hardware and software. Like Apple, Amazon offers a stack of content and services. Kindle Fire isn't about techie features but a digital lifestyle around Amazon products and services.

Unlike other Android tablet manufacturers, Amazon takes complete control over the entire stack. Kindle Fire features an Amazon-customized version of Android 2.x, its own Android app store, music and movie stores, ebook store, web browser and customized media consumption software and services. Sony is closest, followed by Samsung, among Android tablet manufacturers.

Amazon is creating a curated experience that matches Apple's and, in some respects, exceeds it. Consumers can buy Kindle books for Fire, but read them on their iPhone, Android handset or other device. Amazon allows movies and music on Kindle Fire or other devices. From Apple it's just devices supporting iTunes Store. People buying into the Amazon lifestyle get Kindle Fire plus something else. That's an added benefit not available from Apple or other Android tablet vendors -- okay, Sony is closest.

Amazon's continued success is good for driving up Android shipments against iPad, but it's bad broadly. Kindle Fire benefits Amazon and its customers willing to buy into the curated experience but at the expense of the larger Android ecosystem.

Amazon's objectives are contrary to Google's. For example, if I type the web address to Google's Android Market into the Silk browser on my wife's Kindle Fire, Amazon's Android app store opens instead. On other Android tablets, Google Play is default but there is option to sideload from other stores, like Amazon's.

Android already is fragmented. Kindle Fire, Amazon Android, the retailer's app store and curated services stand to fracture the platform and wrestle control from Google. CEO Larry Page, Android leader Andy Rubin and other Google execs aren't dummies. They can see exactly what's happening.

Google Play to Win

Google will bring a large arsenal to bear on Amazon:

1. The Google brand, which like Apple's and Amazon's is well-known and highly regarded. Branding and perception are everything in business.

2. Price, assuming Google goes for $199, as rumored. It's what I'd do.

3. Ice Cream Sandwich. Why wouldn't Google offer its newest Android version and in process finally jumpstart adoption. Google's partners are dragging their asses getting their devices to Android 4.0. As of April 2, ICS accounted for just 2.9 percent of all Android devices, which means cell phones, too.

4. Curated digital lifestyle apps. The Android ecosystem should prepare for the coming Google Android stack to rival Amazon's and to compete with other partners. About a month ago, the search and information giant renamed Android Market Google Play and last week prominently placed a link on the dark bar across services pages like Gmail and Plus.

The name change emphasizes Google over Android as dominant brand and foreshadows the curated approach to come. Like Amazon and Apple, Google offers ebooks, movies and music at its store. Then there is the broader digital lifestyle supported by services like search and maps.

5. Integration. Google is in process of cross-integrating all its products and services, many of which are tightly tied to Android and most prominently and deeply in Ice Cream Sandwich. Already, Google integration pays off big on smartphones. According to comScore's "2012 Mobile Future in Focus" report:

Google-owned apps led across both iPhones and Android devices in terms of total unique active users. For iPhone users, YouTube ranked as the top app by unique visitors, followed by Google Maps, Facebook, Yahoo! Weather and Pandora Radio. Analysis of the Android market found that Google Search led as the top app, followed by Gmail, Google Maps, Facebook and Google News & Weather.

What Google needs now is a successful tablet running ICS.

6. Reference Design. In January 2010, Google unveiled the Nexus One smartphone, which it sold direct to customers. Many bloggers and journalists wrongly wrote that Google charted new retail waters by selling direct, missing the point: Google wasn't going into retail sales but establishing a reference design for manufacturers and developers. From that perspective, Google executed brilliantly with N1 and continued with December release of the Samsung-made Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus a year later.

A Google tablet as reference design is more important now than when I called for it in January 2011. Because of Amazon Android. Google can rally developers to a pure Android tablet running the newest OS version, while leading way for hardware partners to follow.

If Google fails, there will be two Androids competing against iOS tablets. What's that saying about a house divided?

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

Groupon was called the "world's fastest growing company," with 100 million subscribers in 45 different countries and a valuation as high as $25 billion. The service it offers consumers is relatively simple to grasp: get enough people to sign up for a sale or promotion at a restaurant, store, or service, and the promotion then becomes available to everyone who signed up.

Of course, accurately ascribing a value to Groupon --and indeed even properly managing its own accounting practices-- has proven to be very difficult. This week, Groupon could find itself under the scrutiny of the Securities and Exchange Commission yet again.

And of the more than ten thousand daily deal services that sprung up in 2010 across the globe, an estimated 7.61 percent of them shut down in the second half of 2011, and only 35 percent managed to turn a profit.

But the daily deal site is not such a terrible idea. The problem is that they tend to focus on short-term, high interest loans with businesses that attract one-time, disengaged consumers.

A startup called FoundersCard is building itself up on business partnerships that reward loyal, engaged customers, and it appears to be working while daily deal sites crash and burn.

Instead of signing up for a one-time blowout, businesses partner with FoundersCard to provide users with different types of deals, both "permanent" discounts and short-term promotions. Users are members/subscribers, and pay a monthly charge to have access to all of these deals.

FoundersCard has partnered with over 200 businesses, including Apple, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, AT&T, Groundlink Cabs, TaskRabbit, Seamless, Zipcar, Tripit, LegalZoom, UPS, W Hotels, and many more, to offer its members discounts.

But unlike Groupon, which tries to grab as many low-value users it can at a time, FoundersCard's user base is small and high value. It currently has only about 5,500 members, but the average net worth of each member is $1.7 million. It is this high value that attracts the partner businesses, not the promise of a short-term burst of cash.

"The differences between models is stark," said Eric Kuhn, CEO of FoundersCard. "FoundersCard is a small but powerfully connected community of members, as opposed to a massive but detached user base. Our partnerships offer substantive ongoing value. All of our benefits are ongoing in nature and typically combine significant discount with upgrade or elite access as opposed to flash sale deals. Our partners are very happy with results and have religiously renewed and expanded relationships with us."

That model, though less appealing to the bargain-frenzied consumer, is sustainable; and that is more than can currently be said for Groupon.

credit: iQoncept/Shutterstock

If your PC isn’t working properly then Microsoft’s Fix it Solution Center is a great place to start looking for solutions. It has troubleshooters to address problems with performance, stability, security, media playback and a whole lot more, and most of these can be launched in just a couple of clicks.

Of course if your PC isn’t connected to the internet, and network connectivity might be the very reason you need some help, then the site isn’t going to be able to help. But fortunately there’s also a local version available in the shape on Microsoft Fix it Portable, and while it has some problems the program could be a welcome addition to your troubleshooting toolkit.

Fix it Portable starts, just like the online version, by asking you to choose the area where you’re having difficulties. Categories including “Connect to the Internet or networks”, “Fix performance, errors or crashes” and “Fix security, privacy or user accounts”.

Once you’ve chosen one of these, Fix it Portable will display any relevant troubleshooters for that area. So if you’ve selected the “Install or upgrade software or hardware” category, say, you’ll see troubleshooters to “Diagnose and fix printer and printing problems”, “Diagnose and fix Windows USB problems”, “Hardware devices are not working or not detected in Windows”, and more. If you see one that matches your requirements then just click it, and watch as the troubleshooter goes to work, tweaking your settings and hopefully restoring normal working operations.

While all this sounds good, there are a few issues here. Most notably, despite being a bulky download of up to 40MB there are only 26 troubleshooters on offer; if you can get online then you’re far more likely to achieve success by visiting Microsoft’s online Solution Center.

There’s some overlap between the troubleshooters you do get, too. Click the Security category, for instance, and you’ll find one which aims to “Fix security issues to protect and secure Windows automatically”, while another is titled “Automatically fix Windows security settings to keep your PC safe”: it’s not exactly clear which one you should use, even after reading the more in-depth explanation (although you can of course use both).

And the interface is a little odd. If you want to run a particular troubleshooter then you’ll probably instinctively click the “Run Now” button immediately to its right. But the screen also explains that actually you should click the troubleshooters name, a hyperlink which downloads the relevant file to make sure you’re using the most up-to-date version.

Still, for all this, Microsoft Fix it Portable is generally easy to use, and provides a lot of valuable troubleshooting power: if you regularly need to fix PCs which aren’t connected to the internet then it could prove a real timesaver.

Photo Credit: zimmytws/Shutterstock

These days, more and more of us watch video in a variety of different ways. The ease and versatility of modern media can leave you looking at your old collection of videos and DVDs with some annoyance. While you can play DVDs on your notebook or desktop, you can’t insert them into your smartphone or tablet, and what happens if they get scratched or damaged?

Never fear, because we’ve put together a list of useful tools, many of which are completely free to use, to help you not just rip and capture video from archaic sources, but to access it from other devices, too. You should carefully check your own country’s copyright laws before following this tutorial because even with Blu-rays, DVDs and videos you legally own, you may find you’re prohibited from making personal copies, even for backup purposes.

Let’s get Ripped

The first thing you need to do is work out what format you want to store your ripped video in. If you’re simply backing up your DVDs, or you’d like to access them in the same way via their original menus and interface, then the best thing to do is convert them into a single ISO file.

Be warned that DVDs routinely consume 8GB or more per disc of drive space, so it’s definitely only an option if you have the space to spare. Windows users can use BDlot DVD ISO Master for free, but Mac users will have to pay $20 for the privilege: try the free trial of Mac DVDRipper Pro, which lets you rip up to five discs before a purchase is required. Both tools can handle copy protected DVDs (but not Blu-ray discs), while Mac DVDRipper Pro can also convert selected titles to MP4 format.

Rip and Convert

Things are much better, and free, if you simply wish to rip your video into a compressed format. If you’re a lover of all things Apple, including Apple TV, iPad and iPhone, then the best tool to use is Handbrake, which is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. This can rip both DVDs and Blu-ray discs or convert from other video formats into the MP4/MKV container using H.264 video codecs or, in layman’s terms, a format compatible with all Apple devices. Encrypted DVDs may throw up an error about libraries, but just follow the prompts to download and install said libraries, and you should have no further problems.

Another free cross-platform tool worth looking at is MakeMKV. This beta allows you to rip both DVDs and Blu-ray discs (the latter will be free only while the beta lasts) to the MKV container format, with the disc structure, including menus and chapters, left intact.

If you’d like a wider choice of output formats coupled with a simpler, if less customizable, experience, then Windows users should take a look at Freemake Video Converter. Another freebie worth checking out, which is also cross-platform and again supports Blu-ray as well as DVD, is DVDx.

And what of your older analogue video collection? The simplest thing to do is use the software that came with your capture card or USB device, but if you’re looking for an alternative, then VirtualDUB or Windows Live Movie Maker should suffice if you’re running Windows.

Access From Your Mobile Device

So, your media is backed up, and now you’d like to access it from another computer or mobile device on your network. A good choice if the media is stored on a computer’s hard drive is Plex: install Plex Server on the computer hosting the media content, and Plex Media Center on your other PCs and Macs, then purchase Plex 2.0 for Android and iOS if you want access from your mobile.

Plex is versatile -- you can even configure it to give you access to your media over the internet -- but it relies on you storing your media on a computer that’s always on when required. Far easier to store it on a central networked hard drive with a built-in UPNP media server. Then all you need is client software, such as VLC Media Player for your computer, Media Link Player Lite for iPad and iPhone, or aVia for Android.

So there you have it: all the tools you need to rip, convert and access your backed up media content from any device you own. Now you’ll be able to watch your favourite movies and TV shows from wherever you happen to be…

Photo Credit: AISPIX by Image Source/Shutterstock

The Broadband Commission for Digital Development, an initiative set up by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the UN's Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a report on Monday, concluding that Information and Communications Technologies --specifically mobile broadband and cloud computing architectures-- actually help reduce greenhouse gases.

At first blush, it seems obvious: The better connected we are, the less we have to travel to meetings or to send documents, subsequently, less fuel is burned. Likewise, the less physical data and communications equipment we use in the workplace, the less energy we will need.

But the report (.pdf here) actually gets a grip on some concrete figures that point to the ways a strong broadband infrastructure reduces a nation's overall carbon footprint, and turns that data into policy recommendations for world leaders.

The Broadband Commission actually has a few big goals that it's trying to achieve by 2015, which are the reasons for the study. First, it wants to encourage every country have a national broadband plan or strategy to include broadband in their Universal Access/Service definitions. Secondly, it wants developing countries to have affordable entry-level broadband services that amount to less than 5 percent of the average monthly income. Third, it wants 40 percent of households in developing nations to have internet access by 2015. Finally, it wants 60 percent worldwide penetration of Internet use in the developed world, 50 percent in the developing world, and 15 percent in the least developed countries (a list which includes the likes of: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Yemen, and many central and Sub-Saharan African nations.)

Obviously, the Commission's agenda is all about equalizing and improving global connectivity. Today's report, however, comes ahead of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) which will focus on developing a global low-carbon economy, so it attempts to illustrate that broadband and cloud initiatives can actually help advance a "greener" world on their own and they should be duly considered in environmental policy.

"The understanding of the benefits that broadband can bring is at a global tipping point. Its role in GDP growth, in enabling the Millennium Development Goals, and offsetting the effects of climate change is just now starting to be understood, because finally the deployment is there and the benefits can be realized. In today's economic climate, societies need to develop, and with a solutions-driven approach to climate change, we can accelerate a new type of green growth while supporting global sustainable development goals," said Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson and Chairman of the Broadband Commission Working Group on Climate Change.

The Commission's ten suggestions to policymakers:

• Lead with vision: adopt a long-term National Broadband Plan/Strategy based on universal affordability and accessibility, open markets and innovation, and consciously connect this to your climate goals.
• Bring convergence: Bring convergence to ICT policy formulation so that it aligns with other policy areas such as energy, health, education and climate in order to maximize impact.
• Ensure regulatory certainty: Ensure clear regulatory rules and regulations on climate and broadband to create a framework of investment certainty.
• Be an example: drive cross-ministry collaboration and integrated decision-making to align climate and digital goals, and use government procurement to send the right market signals.
• Foster flexibility: identify and remove the regulatory and policy barriers currently hindering research and investment in 21st century ICT-based broadband-enabled infrastructure and low carbon solutions.
• Provide incentives: encourage uptake of low-carbon solutions and support market change by rewarding or incentivizing desired consumer behaviours. Spur innovation among individuals, companies and sectors.
• Build the market: fund and facilitate scalable pilots to demonstrate feasibility and effectiveness of broadband as an enabler of low-carbon solutions and build a strong business case to attract private investment.
• Form partnerships: cultivate connectivity and 'co-creativity' across public, private and non-governmental sectors and industries to help develop a collaborative mindset, shared goals and a common language, and to help break down silos.
• Measure and standardize: develop harmonized metrics and measurements and common standards for calculating both the environmental impacts of ICTs and the positive contribution technology can make to other sectors - from individual products to systems, and from individual households to the city and/or national levels.
• Share knowledge and raise awareness: actively disseminate project findings, share best practice and learn from mistakes to identify success factors and facilitate leapfrogging, especially among less developed markets. Communicate the opportunities and synergies that can be achieved through an integrated, trans-sector approach to digital development infrastructure and low carbon solutions.

credit: Jannoon028/Shutterstock

Simply stated: customer satisfaction. Lots of it. Oh, yeah, and the new display.

Apple started selling its newest tablet on March 8. Between the 22nd and 28th, ChangeWave surveyed new iPad buyers; 82 percent claim to be "very satisfied", which is up from February and 74 percent of iPad 2 owners. When combined with "somewhat" responses, 98 percent of new iPad owners are satisfied, compared to 97 percent for the previous model. The difference is the increase in "very" satisfied versus "somewhat".

Satisfaction is no small benefit. Consumer product nirvana is joy, for the user and the manufacturer/retailer. Happy customers are loyal ones. They tell their friends. Joy is paramount for products, like iPad, with aspirational attributes. It's not coincidence that new iPad commercials fit into the "if you buy this your life will be better" product marketing category.

What ChangeWave's findings lack is competitive reference. Okay, so new iPad owners are more satisfied. But how does this compare to other tablets? Amazon Kindle Fire? ASUS Eee Pad Tansformer Prime? Motorola XYBORAD? Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1?

See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me

More significantly, there is a killer feature that has new iPad owners clamoring with excitement. Can you guess? The high-resolution display. "By a landslide, the high-resolution "Retina" Display (75 percent) is what new iPad owners report they like best about the device", according to ChangeWave. Battery life ranked second (22 percent) and 4G LTE third (21 percent).

Frankly, new iPad's screen resolution bugs me. The better-than-HD display (2048 x 1536 resolution) diminishes the user experience of most every other device I use. New iPad's screen looks so good, everything else looks bad. I've wondered about giving the tablet a go as my primary PC for awhile because of the negative impact on everything else. Hey, I did Chromebook for two months last summer, why not new iPad? But I digress.

ChangeWave's study, of a paltry 200 owners, also reveals major dislikes. "Users cited the 'cost of the device' (26 percent) and the 'cost of the wireless data plan' (23 percent) as their two biggest gripes".

Cost isn't surprising. BetaNews polls show that most readers don't want to pay more than $199 for a tablet. Data plan demonstrates Apple's wisdom in working with carriers to make cellular optional, rather than required. If overwhelmingly satisfied new iPad owners don't like data pricing, what about those buying Androids and getting locked into multi-year contracts?

Fourteen months ago, I called onerous, mandatory data plans "the real reason Android tablets don't stand a chance against iPad". Now there is another: The display.

Heatwave

The question, of course, is how will Android competitors respond to new iPad? This year. Gartner expects quad-core processors and high-resolution displays to be mainstream during second half. Where will that put new iPad?

I'll answer "in the hot seat" to segue to another ChangeWave finding: New iPad isn't too hot. Consumer Reports made quite the to-do last month about the tablet being hotter than its predecessor. Today, in a rather sheepish turnabout, CR recommended new iPad, despite so-called "Heatgate".

If ChangeWave's survey is any indication, Consumer Reports blew a lot of hot air. Exactly zero percent of respondents find heat to be a "very big problem", while a mere 4 percent say "somewhat".

Wrapping up, I'll ask: If you bought new iPad, are you satisfied? Why? Please answer in comments -- and if responding on new iPad, then let us know.

Consumer Reports does it again. Lo and behold, after causing a media firestorm over its blatant attempt at whoring for pageviews, the supposedly impartial source for product reviews is now actually going to recommend the new iPad as the top tablet available.

You read that right. "Heatgate" was supposedly a big enough issue to cause the company to write several posts on it, without quantifying that the iPad is not hotter than other competing tablets or (basically) every laptop on the market. CR is doing an about face, now saying the device's heat generation is no longer a problem.

"The high-resolution screen of the new iPad establishes a new benchmark in excellence, providing the best rendering of detail and color accuracy we've ever seen on a tablet display", reviewer Donna L. Tapellini quips. "As a result, the iPad tops our new tablet Ratings, posted today".

Well Donna, that's nice. Nearly two weeks ago your outfit was telling us that "Heatgate" was a major issue. Looks like you're leading the charge by CR to pull back on those comments by this next excerpt.

"Responding to consumer comments on the new device, and to coverage from other reviewers, we also carried out further tests that confirmed the new iPad is warmer in its hottest spots than the iPad 2", she says. "But we didn't find those temperatures to be cause for concern".

Tapellini touches on the whole charging issue briefly as well, but says neither of these issues affected CR from giving the device high marks. Color me confused as to why in the first place "Heatgate" was even necessary. At least with the iPhone 4, you guys didn't recommend it? Ugh.

You may notice I have not linked their report in this response, and that's completely on purpose. Consumer Reports has lost a lot of credibility here in the past several weeks, and it has come across as blatant pageview whoring. I absolutely refuse to give them any more pageviews for a manufactured problem.

The rest of the media should too. Consumer Reports is getting nothing here that it doesn't deserve. Maybe this will send a message to those folks what is appropriate when it comes to being supposedly impartial, which I'd argue it now appears they are not.

As Instapaper founder Marco Arment says on Twitter this morning: "I'd link to today's Consumer Reports contradiction of their previous sensational garbage, but it's just not worth sending more pageviews".

Amen.

Photo Credit: Mary_L/Shutterstock

Gavrila Martau has released version 6 of his Windows programs removal tool, Total Uninstall. The program is capable of completely uninstalling applications using one of two techniques: the first allows it to detect and analyze existing installations to build an installer log file that can be used to remove the program even when the original installer is missing or corrupt. The second method sees Total Uninstall monitor all changes made by a setup program when installing a new application, allowing the user to remove the program more thoroughly than the supplied installer., which allows users to remove applications even when the original program uninstaller is missing.

Total Uninstall 6.0  adds a number of new features to its three modules -- monitored programs, installed programs and cleaner -- while also introducing various performance improvements, including native support for 64-bit versions of Windows.

Aside from providing native 64-bit support where applicable, Total Uninstall 6.0 also promises to reduce its memory footprint and remove programs more quickly than before. It also claims unspecified improvements, including user interface tweaks.

The monitored programs module now allows the user to drag a program setup file into the monitored programs list to automatically start the monitoring process, plus adds an option to scan and detect created, modified or deleted alternate data streams.

The installed programs module also adds drag-and-drop capabilities, allowing programs to be dragged on to the list to locate the parent application or to add it to the program list. The module has also been tweaked to provider faster and more accurate analysis – up to five times faster. It also analyses new system areas, provides an install history in the summary and, crucially, can detect and uninstall corrupted installations.

Finally, the cleaner module now boasts configurable cleaning profiles. Those upgrading from an older version should follow the instructions for migrating existing settings into the new build.

Total Uninstall 6.0 ships in two versions, Standard and Pro, neither of which comes free. It’s possible to get much of the program’s functionality using two free alternatives: Comodo Programs Manager offers broadly similar features to Total Uninstall, while Revo Uninstaller Free is capable of not just removing programs, but cleaning up after them too by searching for leftover files and Registry entries.

Total Uninstall 6.0 is available as a free 30-day trial for Windows XP, Server, Vista and 7 (both 32-bit and 64-bit). After the trial period expires, a Standard license costs $29.95, and a Professional license costs $39.95, with family and small office licenses also available that cover up to four PCs.

Photo Credit: Pavel Ignatov/Shutterstock

Microsoft competes the old-fashion way with its web browser -- innovation and marketing -- and that's a fairly recent trend. There are reasons companies advertise their products. Promotion raises awareness and, ideally, product adoption. Finally, after years of steady decline, Internet Explorer has sustained growth, at least for five months -- that's a quantifiable trend. In fact, IE was the only major browser to increase usage share in March. Additionally, Microsoft finally sees payback from its risky strategy of not making IE9 Windows XP compatible.

Net Applications releases new data the first of every month, but I waited a day to make absolutely sure this statement was no April Fools prank: "With a gain of .99 percent last month and a net gain of 1.2 percent global usage share over the last five months, Internet Explorer has stabilized and even reversed its usage share declines of the last few years".

Internet Explorer usage share rose to 53.83 percent in March. Yes, that's a long way from the 57.15 percent a year earlier or 60.35 percent in November 2010. IE usage share was over 90 percent in December 2004, when Firefox launched. How the mighty has fallen. But perhaps there is a second chance for Microsoft's browser, like Rocky Balboa's comeback in the third movie of the series.

What irony! Internet Explorer's recent rise started in November 2011, when I reported it was hemorrhaging usage share, following a long, steep decline. What changed? Microsoft set out on a specific strategy and stuck with it, by:

1. Making changes only as often as necessary. Google and Mozilla are now on fast-track development cycles, essentially six-weeks, with multiple versions in simultaneous development. That's fine for revving new innovations but terrible for business adoption. Enterprises, particularly, look for stability not change. Sure IE9 offers some dramatic security and plug-in changes from its predecessor, but over a manageable time period. In April 2011 I asked: "Is web browser development moving too fast?" For many businesses, yes.

In August 2011, Google started killing off support for old browsers, yet not that old. Venkat Panchapakesan, Google vice president of engineering, explains in a blog post a few months earlier: "Each time a new version is released, we'll begin supporting the update and stop supporting the third-oldest version." This approach makes Chrome obsolete about every 12 weeks, which isn't enough time for most businesses to qualify a browser.

Microsoft wisely chooses to develop at a pace more in step with its core customer base of businesses. Developers see rapid iteration on the beta front, but Microsoft saves big changes for major releases.

2. More soundly adopting web stands. After years of pushing proprietary stuff, Microsoft is a leader adopting and advocating accepted and emerging web standards, like HTML5. The approach has many benefits, with positive perceptions among the most important.

3. Steadily promoting new benefits and upping the advertising ante. Microsoft promotes the hell out of Internet Explorer across the web and on TV. I'm a big fan of the recent "A More Beautiful Web" commercial, which is lively and contemporary. Microsoft is slowly, and successfully, rebuilding IE's brand image.

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4. Leaving Windows XP behind. Google and Mozilla browsers support XP (although that ends soon for Firefox), which accounted for 85 percent of the Windows install base when IE9 released in 2009. I questioned the soundness of the strategy in several blog posts over the last 18 months. But the approach appears to be working for Microsoft, and surely somebodies inside the company fiercely debated the strategy as Chrome usage share dramatically rose during the same time period. As Windows 7 adoption increases, so does IE9 adoption.

Still, IE is in a pitched battle with Chrome. That's right, not Firefox! By browser version, IE9 is just barely ahead of Chrome for second place -- 15.17 percent usage share to 14.73 percent, respectively. IE8 leads with 25.4 percent usage share. Frankly, Chrome could lead if Google released new versions less frequently.

Back to the broad strokes, Firefox usage share fell to 20.55 percent in March from 20.92 percent the previous month. Chrome dropped to 18.57 percent from 18.90 percent. Safari: 5.07 percent from 5.24 percent. Opera: 1.62 percent from 1.71 percent.

These declines reverse gains for Firefox and Safari. What really changed in March for competitors? Microsoft started the new IE marketing campaign.

My question to you: Are Internet Explorer usage gains sustainable?

Dell on Monday announced it will be acquiring top thin client maker Wyse Technology for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will help grow Dell's desktop virtualization portfolio and drive alternative compute models such as cloud client computing.

Now that the consumer PC market is no longer the growth vehicle it once was, Dell has been gradually shifting gears to focus on enterprise solutions.

Just three weeks ago, the company announced it had acquired firewall and network security company SonicWall to boost its threat management and data security offerings.

Wyse Technology completes the puzzle for Dell's desktop virtualization solutions. Dell already had datacenter hardware and some endpoint hardware, as well as hosting, management, design and implementation services. Wyse will add the infrastructure management, security, and cloud software (WDM, Trellia, TCX/VDA, ThinOS) to the mix, as well as some additional client hardware resources.

"The combination of Wyse and Dell provides us with tremendous growth opportunities for our core desktop virtualization business, helps us expand into new and fast-growing market segments including mobility and cloud computing, and provides us with reach and scale we did not previously have," said Tarkan Maner, president and CEO, Wyse Technology. "We believe that taking this step with Dell is a very natural progression for our business and offers our customers many great advantages not available to them today.”

Dell believes desktop virtualization will open the door for server, storage, networking, and services opportunities, and the acquisition of Wyse will give the company a leading position in the "growing profit pool" there.

credit: fbmadeira/Shutterstock

If you need to check how your kids, employees or anyone else might be using a shared PC then you could install a complex parental controls or monitoring tool to record every detail.

Or, alternatively, you might just download NirSoft’s UserAssistView. It’s free, and a tiny 35KB download, but is still powerful enough to show you which programs are being launched on your PC, and when.

The program works by reading Windows’ own tracking data, as recorded in the UserAssist Registry key. When you launch a program Windows stores its details there, including the launch time, while also maintaining a running total of how many times you’ve run this particular application. (Which sounds a little intrusive, it’s true, but the system needs to do this to figure out which programs need to be placed in the Most Recently Used area of the Start menu.)

UserAssistView only offers the core tracking details. On launch you’ll see an “Item Name” column which contains the name of each application, for instance. “Count” tells you the number of times it’s been run, and “Modified Time” when it was last launched. This is more than enough to be very useful, though, especially if you click on various column headers to sort the list.

Click “Modified Date”, say, and you’ll see the programs sorted in their order of execution, valuable if you want to track what someone’s been doing recently.

Or clicking “Count” will show you the most frequently launched applications, which can also be interesting, although it’s trickier to interpret (the number of times you fire up a program isn’t always a good indicator as to how much you use it; you might launch Outlook only once a session, say, but then leave it running until you close down).

UserAssistView offers a simple and lightweight approach to PC monitoring, then, which has a lot of appeal. But if you think the whole idea of tracking program use this way is an invasion of your privacy, then you could reduce chance of others using the same trick on you by simply cleaning up the UserAssistView Registry key on a regular basis.

CCleaner, for instance, is just one of the tools which can handle this for you: check “User Assist History” in the Advanced list to wipe the relevant keys during cleaning (although keep in mind that your Start Menu will no longer update to show the most recently used applications).

Photo Credit: Dmitriy Shironosov/Shutterstock

Security vendor NoVirusThanks has released SSDT View, a 64-bit (only) tool that can show you the contents of your System Service Descriptor Table, perhaps highlighting changes made by rootkits and other stealthy malware.

There are of course plenty of antirootkit tools around that can do something similar, and a whole lot more, but these are generally aimed at Windows experts. SSDT View is safer, and far simpler, which makes the program accessible to a far wider audience.

What’s the SSDT? Whenever Windows or one of your applications wants to carry out some action -- check the Registry, read or write a file, launch or close a process, and so on -- then this will usually result in Windows calling a service in the System Service Descriptor Table. Writing to a file will call the NtWriteFile service to do the actual work, for instance; on our test PC that entry points to memory address 0xFFFF:F800:0356:B210, which is within the module C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe – the Windows kernel.

Malware will sometimes try to tamper with the SSDT, though, replacing the memory addresses with pointers to its own modules. If it successfully hooks the NtTerminateProcess function, say, the malware could intercept and block attempts to close it down, and with similar hooks elsewhere it really can obtain a great deal of low-level control over your PC.

To check your system with SSDT View, then, just install and launch the program and immediately you’ll see a list of your SSDT services, the relevant memory address for each one, and the module responsible for handling that call.

If your “Module” references are all pointing at the Windows kernel (ntoskrnl.exe, probably) then everything appears to be normal.

When one or more SSDT memory addresses are pointing elsewhere, though, this may be a sign of trouble. If you don’t recognise the module name as a legitimate program or driver you’ve installed then you may want to Google it for more information. (Just don’t start deleting files named here unless you’re 100% sure what you’re doing, otherwise you could cripple your PC.)

Photo Credit: njaj/Shutterstock

Fancy the idea of using the Windows 8 UI but don’t feel like going as far as installing the consumer preview version of the OS? Look no further than a transformation pack to give your operating system a makeover and a completely new look. If you’re working with Windows 7 you can use Windows 8 UX Pack 4.0, while Windows 8 Transformation Pack 4.0 can be used in everything from Windows XP and up. Both apps bring the look and feel of Windows 8 to your desktop with no need for complex tweaking.

The two skinning app’s  version numbers have been brought in line with each other, and there are a number of changes to investigate. Windows 8 UX Pack 4.0 now better mimics the look of Windows 8 thanks to the switch to using the Segoe UI font and inclusion of all of the desktop wallpapers from the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

There are the usual big fixes that you would expect to find in a new software version, and there are also changes to the Start button and UI to bring the program more in line with Windows 8.

Windows 8 Transformation Pack 4.0 has undergone more of an overhaul, including the addition of the same Segoe font. Anyone who has trouble working with the new interface now has an alternative in the form of the Charms Bar which enables you to try out another of the features of Windows 8. Problems with colorization in Windows 7 and Vista have been addressed, and there are new logon screens, system tray icons, Start buttons and more.

If you’ve not experimented with transformation packs in the past, these tools offer a great introduction. UX Pack works, incredibly, without modifying and system files, but Windows 8 Transformation Pack has been tweaked and primped to be safer and more reliable than ever. You may have been put off by flaky skinning tools of old, but these are two tools that not only give your computer a completely new look, but manage to do so in a simple and impressive way.

You can find out more by visiting the review pages for Windows 8 Transformation Pack 4.0 and Windows 8 UX Pack 4.0.

Today, hacktavist group Anonymous put to rest one of the most important debates about Barack Obama. Is he really a US citizen? Only native-born Americans are legally permitted to be president, and early during his 2008 election campaign Obama fought off accusations that he was born in another country and not the great state of Hawaii. The accusations turn out to be true. But his place of origin is farther out. Barack Obama was born on another planet.

Anonymous published the stunning revelatory material to Pastebin, marking its most courageous hack to date. For anyone questioning the group's motivations, the stolen material puts to rest any doubt about being a force of good. Hacktavists obtained emails and other documents from Obama's BlackBerry, along with foiled plans to invade the earth. The White House immediately issued a denial, calling the disclosure a prank.

Aliens Among Us

The revelation brings new meaning to terms like "resident alien". They're not from another country. The freshly released material also explains how Obama, with little political experience, mesmerized Americans during his presidential bid. People who four years ago called his campaign and its success "out of this world" were right in ways they never imagined. Anonymous revealed that alien agents instigated the financial collapse that preceded the November 2008 presidential vote, while using subliminal messages in campaign TV commercials -- even rival John McCain's -- to convince Americans to vote Obama.

Meanwhile, the US government's $700 billion-plus "TARP" bailout to crippled financial institutions paid off the rich elite cooperating with the aliens, while seeking to breakdown Americans' will to resist when the invasion came. Aliens also instigated similar bailouts across the globe, and even the current Euro crisis. The documents reveal that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake, and predecessor Alan Greenspan, are aliens, too.

Occupy Wall Street organizer Terrance Travis Tonka immediately called for a protest against "the other 1 percent. I'm mortified, and soulfully sorry, to admit that we were wrong. Our woes weren't caused by the 1 percent of rich mother-effers but the other 1 percent -- the aliens among us. They want to break our will, our willingness to fight for ourselves. Yes, we are beaten down. But we won't give up. We call on all Americans, all peoples of the planet earth, to make April 1st a day of protest and start of a global campaign to uncover the identity of every alien invader".

Soon after Anonymous' stunning disclosure, former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin called for a recall of the 2008 election results, Obama's impeachment and Senator John McCain's instatement as president -- with her alongside him. But Anonymous revealed that Palin is an alien, too! Her seemingly irrational behavior four years ago was meant to undermine McCain's candidacy, while providing a back-up plan to the Oval House should Obama lose. Later, Palin and her non-alien collaborators founded the Tea Party Movement, which placed aliens in Congress for the purpose of destabilizing the US government. To date, given the deadlocked Congress, those plans succeeded.

Failed Invasion

However, while Palin and others laid the groundwork for invasion, top alien leaders worked against it. The "change" Obama campaigned for four years ago was more than leadership in Washington but capitol cities around the globe. Anonymous revealed that aliens planned to land their ships during Easter 2011, masquerading as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Aliens hoped to create confusion enough to lay siege to major cities before governments could respond. The reasoning: Who would nuke Jesus?

The invasion failed because the first alien leaders enjoy their lives so much on earth, Anonymous revealed in several email exchanges between Obama and his brethren expressing their desire to keep the planet for themselves. The aliens sent misleading communiqué to their home world indicating that earth's inhabitants had already depleted its valuable resources and that a period of global cooling was underway. The aliens require higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and warmer temperatures -- sustained 40 degrees Celsius and above -- to thrive. There are reasons Obama is known to constantly complain about being cold in hot, humid Washington, DC.

Today's hack comes a day after Anonymous organized a coordinated attack against the Internet's 13 primary DNS servers. Group spokesperson #ductape revealed that its efforts to bring down the Internet were coordinated with a more brazen hack of Obama's BlackBerry.

The White House wasted no time responding to #ductape, issuing a followup statement claiming that the hactavist group's members are the real alien invaders. "What more proof do you need than bringing down the Internet and the recent surge of hackers seeking to destabilize global authority", according to the statement.

The Pastebin post is a wellspring of stunning revelations, some of which no science fiction writer could conceive. Example: For years, many analysts questioned the irrational leadership of Research in Motion's former co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis -- almost like they were trying to destroy the company. They were! Anonymous revealed that they're aliens, too. By crippling RIM, and diminishing BlackBerry's popularity, aliens hoped to quietly implement their own security measures on Obama's smartphone and make the platform less appealing to hackers. Obviously, with today's disclosure, the plan failed.

Editor's Note, April 2, 2012: Yes, this is an April Fools.

Photo Credit: The White House

Small and medium sized business are quickly moving to the cloud to reduce IT costs, a new study shows. The number of cloud services is expected to double over the next five years, and the number of small business using at least one cloud service will triple during that same period.

Cloud computing offers small business the opportunity to access the computing power of much larger corporations at a fraction of the cost. In fact, the survey shows that half of all SMBs see the cloud as becoming more important to their business.

"The cloud levels the playing field for SMBs, helping them compete in today’s quickly changing business environment, by spending less time and money on IT and more time focused on their most important priority —- growing their businesses", argues Microsoft operator channel vice president Marco Limena.

Microsoft commissioned the study of 3,000 small and medium sized businesses in 13 countries. The survey was conducted by Wayland, Mass.-based research firm Edge Strategies.

The most commonly used cloud services are email, instant messaging, voice communications, and backup. Edge also looked at SMB cloud plans over the next three years and the same cloud services also are in the IT plans of those embracing the cloud.

From this data, it certainly could be argued that SMBs seem to be quick to embrace the cloud in order to enhance communication. It makes sense: in small business, communication is key to ensure rapid growth.

The biggest motivators for migration to the cloud among SMBs is to save money (54 percent), followed by increases in productivity. Decision makers also mentioned flexibility as a fairly common response. Of those already using the cloud, 59 percent reported productivity increases as a result.

Such an increase in productivity is vital in an economy where revenues are hard to come by. Even in this environment, cloud-enabled SMBs are expected to do well. 63 percent report that they expect to increase sales within the next 12 to 18 months, with 58 percent believing the cloud makes them more competitive in the marketplace.

"Gone are the days of large enterprises holding the keys to enterprise-class IT and services", Limena says.

Photo Credit: nopporn/Shutterstock

Infograph: Microsoft

Another week --  month, actually --- is behind us and a huge number of software releases to keep track of. If you feel like you may have missed out on some of the biggest releases, this roundup is here to get you back up to speed.

iolo System Mechanic Free 10.8.3.51 is a great free tool for optimizing your system, but if you’re more concerned about protecting your privacy by securely deleting files, take a look at Disk Wipe 1.5. Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.4.1.0 is a free utility to replace Windows’ defragmentation tool which now offers better stability and performance. There’s also a Pro version of the program available –Auslogics Disk Defrag Pro 4.0.1.50. Infamous system cleaner CCleaner 3.17.1689 and CCleaner Portable 3.17.1689 feature improved cookie options, better support for Chrome and a host of other fixes and enhancements.

BurnAware Free 4.8 is one of the most recent apps to be updated with support for Windows 8, while Xara Web Designer MX 8 is an advanced web design tool, but if you need something a little more powerful, take a look at Xara Web Designer MX Premium 8. As well as creating your own websites to put online, you should also be able to enjoy other people’s sites.

When you’re using the internet, security software is always important, and Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ 10 FINAL and Kaspersky PURE 2.0 Total Security can help you with this.

For anyone that takes a keen interest in their computer, AIDA64 2.30 can reveal everything you need to know about your hardware and software -- there’s also AIDA64 Business Edition 2.30 which includes a number of extra handy options. If you own an iPhone, iPad or iPod, Apple iTunes 10.6.1 (32-bit) and Apple iTunes 10.6.1 (64-bit) have been released.

This is largely a bug fixing release, and there are no new features of note. If you’re more of a fan of Android devices, BlueStacks App Player 0.6.3 (beta) is an interesting tool that makes it possible to install Android app within Windows.

The week saw a number of releases from Adobe, focused around its two big internet tools. Adobe Flash Player for Internet Explorer 11.2 (32-bit) and Adobe Flash Player for Internet Explorer 11.2 (64-bit), which is the latest version of the browser plugin for IE users. If you’re using a different browser, Adobe Flash Player for Other Browsers 11.2 (32-bit) and Adobe Flash Player for Other Browsers 11.2 (64-bit) have been released offering improved performance thanks to the software taking advantage of GPUs. Also released by the company is Adobe Air 3.2 which includes impressive performance improvements thanks to better compression support.

We’ve already looked at a few security tools, but there have been a number of releases from AVG starting with AVG Premium Security 2012 SP1 (v12.0.2126). This latest service pack adds the ad tracker blocking as well as protection against spoofed wifi networks and there’s also a service pack for the company’s famous AV tool, AVG Anti-Virus 2012 SP1 (v12.0.2126). There’s also a free version of the tool available -- AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2012 SP1 (v12.0.2126) -- and a lower cost version of the main security tool in the form of AVG Internet Security 2012 SP1 (v12.0.2126). One final update form AVG this week is AVG LinkScanner Free Edition 2012 v12.0.2126 which keeps you protected by blocking potentially dangerous web sites.

There are often weeks that seem to be dominated by web browsers, and the week past is no different. Google Chrome 18 FINAL sees a new version of Google’s browser entering the stable channel and there is also a portable version available in the form of Google Chrome Portable 18.0.1025.137 Beta. The new stable release means that there is now Google Chrome 19.0.1084.1 Dev for anyone who likes to be at the cutting edge, and Google Chrome Portable 19.0.1077.3 Dev is available if you want to pop the browser on a USB drive. The release of a new version of Chrome means that there is also a new version of speed and security optimized variantComodo Dragon 18 FINAL, while Apple Safari 5.1.5 is a more minor release.

If this does not give you enough choice for browsing the web, take a look at Opera Next 12.00 build 1351 or Opera Next 12.00 build 1251 (64-bit). Neither version offers huge difference from their predecessors, but the march of development continues -- but Opera 11.62 FINAL now provides better HTML5 support and a raft of other improvements.

There isn’t a new version of Firefox just at the moment, but Pale Moon 11.0.1 and Pale Moon x64 11.0.1 are the latest version of the Firefox 11 based browser, bringing various improvements including better HTML5 and CSS3 support.

Join us again end of the week for another app-packed roundup.

Photo Credit: Trudy Simmons/Shutterstock